Pulling Away
by sarah-hart
Summary: Sam and Quinn are happily married and in talks of children. But what happens when an unexpected visitor shows up on the Evans's doorstep, one that they simply cannot ignore? Quinn always knew Beth would get back to her one day.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Right, I knew I was going to get back to my OTP at one point especially after how successfully 'I Desperately Need You' was. So here it is - my next Fabrevans fic! It's definitely not going to be as long as IDNY but my friend helped me to think of the idea and I simply needed to do it. So, I hope you enjoy…**

The sunlight peaked through the tiny gap in the curtains of the Evans's bedroom window, making the room light up with morning rays. Sam groaned in protest of the new light, swiping the pillow from behind him and using it to protect his eyes from the rays. It did no use though - even behind the soft linen of the pillow and his closed eye lids, his vision still burned bright orange.

Beside him, a blonde woman giggled and snuggled closer to him. The light had also irritated her but she'd been awake for a few hours now so she hadn't complained. She hadn't wanted to wake her husband from his slumber but it seemed the sun had already done that for her. Noticing his irritant groans, she wrapped her arms tightly around his naked torso and pulled him closer.

"Quinn…" Sam slurred tiredly as a small smile played on his lips, "I didn't know you were awake." he noted, moving himself closer to her and fondling her gently.

"How could I sleep with all that moaning of yours?" she joked, running a hand through his morning locks.

Sam scoffed and shot her a judgemental look. "Well, I never complained with all _your_ moaning last night." he hinted at the previous night where they had done a little more than just sleeping.

Quinn's jaw fell open and she slapped his arm playfully. "That's not funny, Sam, it's insulting…" she whined, rolling away from him and to her own side of the bed.

Sam laughed at her childish manners but nevertheless followed her over. "Come on," he whispered seductively as he bit and nibbled on her ear lobe, wrapping his arms around her body and collecting her body heat, "we're married now. You should know the kind of jokes I make by now."

She was reluctant, but eventually Quinn nodded and snuggled closer to him again, toying with the wedding ring on her finger. "Yeah… I suppose I should."

At one point in her life, Quinn would have thought that being happy was a far stretch of reality for her. Nowadays, she'd finally come to terms with the fact that her life was completely free of drama, or at least the kind of drama she didn't want.

A couple of years on from high school, things had changed. She was no longer constantly on the run from the demons of her past, or her mistakes. The cheating and lying never happened again. She'd straightened herself out and found herself attending a respectful college in the area of Lima, Ohio.

Eventually, she'd found herself rekindling her love with Sam. They'd attended the same college where he'd gotten in on a football scholarship since his grades were less impressive than Quinn's and his family a little less well off. It took a while but they finally accepted that the past was the past and both of them were sorry for the mistakes that they'd made.

And oh, they'd made mistakes. Of course, there was the whole incident with Quinn making out with Finn Hudson. Yeah, that kind of put the relationship on the rocks. Then, there was Sam breaking up with her in a public hallway and dating her enemy, Santana Lopez.

It was sad, they realised - they'd ignored each other for so long when they could've had this. Why had they been so blind? Because they were selfish and naive, they'd refused to give in to one another even if they had always held the same feelings. It was a long and tiring road to travel down but they met each other at the end and here they were.

After college had past, they moved in to their own apartment and both earned respectable jobs. Sam was an editor of the local newspaper and worked part time, teaching some kids in the neighbourhood how to play guitar. Quinn was a admirable real estate agent, something which she'd imagined herself doing for a long time. The pay wasn't fantastic but they got by.

Then, Sam a few years on, Sam had proposed. It had completely taken Quinn by surprise - the location, the timing. It was all so unpredictable yet so _Sam_. He'd popped the question not long after a raise at work, showing up at her workplace to get down on one knee. Surprisingly, he'd gone through a very complicated procedure to get to that point. He'd begun by asking Quinn's mom for permission, of course. She still didn't speak to her dad so he presumed that the next most influential member of her family to her was her mom. Then, he'd asked the staff at the office she worked for if it would be okay for him to show up out of the blue. Reluctantly, her boss had agreed and he went straight for it, buying the ring that he thought she would like the most.

And she loved it, of course. Rounds of applause boomed from around the room as she whispered a stunned 'yes' and jumped into his arms, terrifying her but enchanting the situation all the same. She was slightly angry being the only person in the building unaware of what had gone on but she couldn't say she was displeased. She was ecstatic - she was getting married!

So, they did. It was a good few months on from the engagement in a nearby church. It was nothing fancy - family members, a few close friends - but it meant everything more to Sam and Quinn. Just as long as they could finally say the vows they'd wanted to say since high school, they were happy.

Recently, they'd been able to afford their own house. Things were going great in their work lives and also at home. They were content in each other's presence and glad to be moving on and up with their lives.

One topic that would briefly touch the surfaces of either one's thoughts each day would be when they would start their family. It had been about 4 months since the marriage and both of them felt ready - Quinn was broody, that was for sure. She'd often hint at how wonderful it would be to have a little girl or boy to care and tend for. Sam would laugh it off like a joke but really he knew her true intentions. And he felt the same.

Sighing, Sam finally rolled out of bed. It was Thursday and he was going to be late for work if he stayed any longer. Quinn had been granted the day off by her boss, but he wasn't so lucky.

Quinn let out a muffled groan into her pillow. "Where are you going?" she whimpered as she felt his grip loosen and eventually his body rolling away from her. She hadn't bothered to look at the clock yet so she was still unaware of the time.

"Unlike some, I have to work, I'm afraid." he sighed, gathering his things from the draws that surrounded him and heading into the bathroom down the hallway to wash.

It took her a few moments, but Quinn finally peaked up from the covers. She held the sheets against her bare chest as she called out to him. "Can't you just stay at home today?" she tried to hide the desperation in her voice but she failed. She hated being around the house by herself, it made her feel trapped. "Call in sick. I'm sure your boss wouldn't mind…"

That was lie. Both of them knew he would mind. Oh, he would mind. He was pretty strict and it was best not to take chances. "I don't think so!" Sam laughed off her absurd suggestion. After that, Quinn could hear him switching on the shower so she gave up the fight. It was no point - he could no longer hear her under the sound of the water and all of the shouting would just make the headache she had worse.

She lazed around under the covers until he returned again and began to dress. She watched him attentively as he slipped on his trousers and buttoned up his T-shirt. They may have been older and changed now but he was always going to be that 17-year-old boy to here. She recalled the many times she'd wanted to do more than just kissing but pushed him away because of her celibacy pledge. Well, that had been scrapped after one drunken night in college… they hadn't stopped sleeping together ever since.

"I'll see you later, sweetheart." he bid her goodbye and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead once she was ready. She did the same for him before he jetted off and out of the house, straight to work. She should have admired his punctuality and dedication. Instead, she just felt lonely.

As soon as he was gone, she decided it was probably a good idea to get showered and dressed too so she did just that. She also spent several hours cleaning up the house, scrubbing the floors and putting things back in place. Then, she made herself some breakfast and decided to watch TV. This was usually what her day consisted of when he was gone - sitting around the house, cleaning and pointless activities.

Quinn considered taking a small trip over to the local supermarket. They were going to need to go shopping soon anyway and she figured it would be easier if Sam wasn't there while she did it because he hated shopping so much. Of course, he always went with her anyway but she didn't like feeling like she was forcing him to come.

Heading for the door, she twisted the knob and pulled it open, nearly walking right into a person.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, slightly frightened and frustrated by this mystery person. She was a young woman, probably just coming out of her teen years. Her hair was a pale blonde shade and about midlength. She wore it wavy with a small clip to hold back her bangs. As for her skin, she was slightly-olive skinned with dark, dark brown eyes that seemed almost never ending.

"I'm sorry!" she apologised hastily, holding her hands up as an almost peace offering. "I was going to know, I just-…" she stopped mid-sentence. It's true - she was going to knock she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She had been contemplating it, thinking of reasons for and against it. She probably would've ended up walking away if Quinn hadn't opened the door first and nearly knocked her over.

Quinn laughed it off nervously although she was still rather confused as to how a young girl had found herself on her doorstep. "It's okay… uhm, who are you?" she inquired, trying not to sound too rude.

The girl inhaled and exhaled deeply. "I've come here to talk to you." she replied, a new and serious tone to her voice. Quinn nodded slowly but quirked up an eyebrow, insisting that she elaborate. "Are you Quinn Fabray?"

"Evans." Quinn corrected hastily. She didn't like being called by her maiden name anymore. Absentmindedly, she began to twirling her wedding ring around on her finger. "I'm married now."

The girl nodded and her mouth formed a small 'o'. "Right…" she sighed, "well this is pretty important. Do you mind if I come in?"

Quinn was growing even more frustrated with this girl as she continued to talk. "Well, actually, I was just on my way out… can you come back later?"

Quinn could see the nerves twisting around in the girl's stomach and she twiddling her thumbs. "Actually, I can't… I'm really sorry to be bothering you but I-…" she couldn't get the words out. She could feel them in her throat but they just refused to come any further.

Quinn's shoulders sagged and she rolled her eyes, shaking her head with disapproval. "Look, I'm really sorry, honey, but I just don't have time for this." she explained, making the annoyance clear in her voice. She shuffed out of the door and locked the door behind her. "So, if you could just-"

"Wait!" the girl called just as Quinn was halfway down the path. Quinn turned around with an expectant look in her eyes. "My name is Beth Corcoran… and I think I'm your daughter."

**Thank you for reading! Any feedback is well appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, guys! I didn't expect to get that many reviews on the first chapter - thank you! Now, I know I said this about IDNU but really this fan fiction isn't going to be that long :] I'll try and make ten chapters out of it… I'm still not entirely sure where it's going to end up but we'll see. I'm also thinking about writing a supernatural Fabrevans fic… we'll see ;) Enjoy!**

Quinn's vision became blurry. It was almost as if she knew about the words came out of the girl's mouth - her daughter._ Beth._ She mouthed the name gently, somehow trying to fathom how all of this was possible.

Because it wasn't possible. It simply wasn't. When the adoption papers had been signed, Quinn had been adamant that she didn't want her daughter to find her. What would she think if she knew her mother was some knocked-up teenager? She didn't want that for her and she still didn't.

But that wasn't the only reason - she wanted to protect herself too. She wanted to be able to have a normal life and grow up in the right time. She wanted to marry before she had children and she wanted those children to grow up in a stable environment. Being on '16 and Pregnant' or 'Teen Mom' was _not_ a stable environment.

"I'm really sorry to show up out of the blue…" Beth murmured nervously when she realised that Quinn simply couldn't talk at all. "I should have called or something. My God, I'm so stupid! I'm sorry, I'll come back another time, I-"

Just as the girl was about to walk away, Quinn put her arm in front of her to halt her movement. With a gulp and a long exhale, she finally found the strength to speak up. "No… don't go, please. Come in."

* * *

><p>Quinn sat her daughter on the living room sofa whilst she scurried off into the kitchen to make coffee. It was an excuse to buy herself some thinking time, try to analyse the situation before she jumped right into things.<p>

First of all, she questioned things - how did she know who her mother was? When did she find out? What was she actually _here_ for besides to make sure? There must have been some other motive - did she want to tell Quinn she wanted nothing to do with her? Or exactly the opposite?

Then, Quinn wondered what Sam would think. Of course he knew that Quinn had been pregnant before he transferred to McKinley but she was pretty sure he never expected her bastard child to end up on their doorstep. How could she tell him about this. Or _would_ she tell him? It was all so confusing.

And did her father know? Was Puck in on this? Quinn hadn't seen him since graduation. She knew he kept up his pool cleaning business and he worked on cars too but she'd never actually requested his help or seen him around town. It was a small place too, so it was strange that it hadn't occurred.

Finally, she returned to the living room. She was terrified of course but she didn't want Beth to know that she was trying to avoid this conversation. It was incredibly awkward for her and confusing. She hadn't been in a position like this for a long time.

"So." Quinn began with a sigh after sitting down and passing the coffee to the girl, "How old are you now?"

"I've been eighteen a few months now." Beth answered quietly, averting her gaze from her mother. It was only now that Quinn was noticing the uncanny resemblance she could see in Beth - the hair, the face shape, the build. But she also looked like her father. She had the Jewish nose, tanned skin and fathomless brown eyes. Quinn couldn't help but think that she was looking at one of those pictures you can make on sites that mash up two other photographs to see what your child would look like.

A pregnant pause fell between them when Quinn pulled her gaze away. She finally broke it by cutting to the chase. "And why are you here?" she asked. She tried to hide the harshness in her voice with curiosity but it didn't come out too well.

Beth cleared her throat. "I found out that I was adopted a couple of years ago. I think I was about twelve when… _Shelby,_" she looked pained to call her by her first name rather than 'mom', "told me. I wanted to meet you but I couldn't. It's a closed adoption, she couldn't tell me anything. So I waited until I was eighteen… and I found you."

Quinn nodded slowly as the information dissolved in her mind. "Right…" she began, "but that still doesn't explain why you're here." her words were abrupt and with little kindness but Beth didn't seem to pick up on it.

"I just wanted to find you… I want to know you." she admitted shyly. Quinn could see the similar mannerisms that she held in her daughter - the way she sat, the look in her eyes and the way she played with her fingers. Even right down to the way she swallowed after her words as if they were hurting her, which they probably were, were similar.

Quinn took a deep breath. "Okay…" she sighed, "we need to get this out of our system then, I suppose." it was the first time she was being open and honest with her daughter so far but she figured the time would have to come soon, "Do you know why I didn't want you to know who I was?"

Beth nodded almost immediately. "Yeah, I took a visit to the hospital. You were a teenage mom, right?"

Quinn nodded solemnly. "I couldn't handle the pressure - I hope you understand that. And your father… do you-…?"

"No, no." she shot, "I don't know him. I wasn't able to find him. Do you… know him? Do you know where I could find him? I'd like to know him too."

The older woman bit her lip. Did she really want to know Noah Puckerman? Quinn hadn't seen him in a long time but he was kind of a jerk in high school. She may not have knew her daughter well but she didn't want to hurt her. If Noah was still the same person he was then, she didn't want to trust him with this girl. Still, she had to say something. "I don't speak to him anymore…" she sighed. She wasn't sure if it was a sigh of relief or sorrow but it was still a sigh. "We kind of… weren't friends before you were born?" the statement came out as a question.

"Why? How is… that possible if you had me?" Beth inquired curiously. Quinn could feel her heart beating hard in her chest and she was pretty sure her express gave away her fear or the question as Beth shot right up from her seat. "I'm so sorry. Oh my God, I _really_ shouldn't have come here."

Beth tried to escape but Quinn pulled her back. She may not have been comfortable with the situation but she still wanted her daughter to know. "Wait!" she exclaimed, grabbing her by the wrist and turning her around. "I'll explain everything - I promise. Just… sit down." the words came out like a command so she added a hasty 'please' to the end of the sentence and Beth obliged.

Quinn took a deep breath and she prepare herself to pour her heart out. She hadn't spoken about this for an awful long time now. Sometimes her and Sam would brush over it quickly in conversation but they always rushed to get it over with or barely mentioned it. It wasn't an appropriate conversation to have at the dinner table.

"When I got pregnant with you," she began but could already feel her throat tightening and growing agonisingly painful, "I was dating your father's best friend." Beth tried to hide her shocked reaction but it was difficult. Her mouth gaped open slightly and her eyes grew sad, almost disappointed.

Quinn continued to talk though, ignoring her daughter's obvious disapproval. "I felt fat that day. He showed up at my house because he'd been watching me for a while. He liked me. I think he thought he loved me but he couldn't do anything about it… and it he brought wine coolers. He told me I was pretty and I felt kind of good. I know it's no excuse but it's the best I have. You might hate me now, but at least you'll know."

Beth nodded slowly, processing all of this information. "And… his best friend? What happened?" despite the disappointment, she was still curious as to how the story played out. She wanted to know more and Quinn couldn't blame her. Heck, if it hadn't have been her life she probably would have found it amusing.

"I told him it was his kid. We hadn't slept together yet but Finn… well, Finn was simple. And he really liked me so he believed the story that I told him… and I told him that you could get pregnant via hot tub." Quinn took a deep breath. The memories wer egetting to her and she could feel the tears brimming in her eyes, "But your father… he knew. He knew that I hadn't slept with Finn and I told him I was a virgin when we did it." Quinn couldn't hide her discomfort at talking about such intimate encounters with a daughter that she barely knew. "Eventually, Finn found out. My parents had kicked me out for being pregnant and I was living with him… but then the relationship broke down when he found out and he kicked me out too. I was left to live with your father because he was the only person I had."

Beth sighed after she'd taken the time to analyse what had just been said. "Right…" she finally murmured, nodding her head slowly, "I can see why you didn't want to keep me."

Quinn swallowed. "Thank you for understanding."

It was unspoken but both of them knew Beth was going to leave now. They both stood up and headed for the door but just before they reached it, Beth spun around on her heels to face Quinn. "What was his name?"

Quinn paused and tried to think a way out of answering but she knew that if it was meant to be, Beth would find Puck. She figured there was no point in lying because the truth always came out sooner or later. "Noah Puckerman." she replied slowly.

Beth swallowed and made her discomfort apparent before she asked the next question. "And… did you… did you _love_ him?"

Quinn's breath was caught in her throat before she could answer. Many thoughts ran through her head - she thought of high school, the years before she'd met Sam and how she'd actually felt about Noah. At first, she thought he was just another footballer who'd done most of the girls in the school. But when he'd told her that she wasn't fat, she felt amazing. And when he told her he'd loved her, she felt like she'd tamed a lion.

"Yes…" she whispered quietly, looking her daughter in the eye for the first time since they'd begun to talk. "I did." she added, remembering to add emphasis on the past tense. She didn't love Noah Puckerman anymore. It was over and she loved Sam.

Beth smiled slightly at the thought of her parents once being in love. She didn't know them but she liked to think that they had her because they loved each other at least at one point in their lives. Even if they had never had a stable relationship, them loving each other was just enough to please her.

Just as she was about to turn and bid a silent goodbye, the front door swung open. Quinn gulped as she lay her eyes on Sam, back home early from work.

"Sam!" she exclaimed nervously and robotically, "W-Why are you home early?"

"The boss let me off early because there wasn't much left to do… nice to see you too, Quinn." he made his words sarcastic and smiled brightly. Then, for the first time he seemed to have noticed Beth. He studied her for a moment, his eyes scrolling up and down. "Hey, whose this?" he asked, pulling a genuine smile. He held his hand before the girl or nervously took it.

Quinn's stomach turned as the words built up in her throat. "Sam…" she began, walking beside him and laying a hand on his bicep. It seemed inevitable that he would freak out by this point but she at least wanted to make him seem a little calmer in front of Beth. "This is Beth… she's my daughter."

**And I bare another cliff-hanger! I have a habit of doing that, don't I? Sorry! You have to admit though, it makes it more interesting :D I'd loved to know what you think of the idea so far, some of your predictions would be interesting to read, perhaps? I always wonder how people interpret my writing… anyway, thank you for reading. Reviews are well appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

Several seconds passed as Sam devoured Quinn's words but it felt like a life time - an extremely awkward lifetime at that. He had known for so long that Quinn had given birth to a child before they met and he'd always been okay with that. He hadn't judged her and had simply just come to accept that it was a part of her past that she couldn't erase.

But this? He'd never even considered it.

His stomach turned in different directions, causing him to feel nauseous. A child… well, not a child anymore but a full grown lady. _Beth. _It's not that he wasn't happy for the reconnection that had been made so far, it just didn't fit. He'd never even considered Beth showing up.

And what did that mean in the equation for them? Did it change their views on starting a family? Perhaps Quinn would be a little less hostile to pregnancy if she had Beth in her life and Sam didn't want that.

"O-Oh." he finally managed to stammer, plastering a smile on his face. He hoped it looked believable. "It's nice to meet you, Beth." he greeted her, his smile soon growing genuine and his words truthful. He was going to be happy for his wife. He was going to support her.

Beth smiled and nodded graciously.

"Yeah and this is… Sam." Quinn introduced her to him this time, trying to chose her words carefully. "My… husband."

Beth had been aware that Quinn was married the moment they'd first met, as Quinn had corrected Beth when she'd called her under the name 'Fabray' but she was still slightly taken aback. Still, she smiled on through and greeted Sam with the same warmth that he had given her,

Then, something in her eyes clicked like she'd just remembered something, the way that Quinn's often did he noted. Both of them had the ability to speak through there eyes. Beth reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper.

"Listen…" she began, playing with the edges of the paper as she turned to face Quinn, "I know that you don't really know me and I'm not sure if you'd want to… but if you do, here's my phone number and email address just in case." she passed Quinn the note.

Quinn responded by giving it a firm nod and folding it over. "Thanks." she smiled and placed a comforting hand on Beth's shoulder. They weren't close enough to hug yet, clearly. Still, she gave Sam and cautious look before walking her daughter to the front door.

Sam dropped this things and paced around the living room with his hands through his hair as he waited for his wife to return. He'd taken off his blazer, loosened his tie and undid a few buttons of his shirt which was now crinkled from a days work. He looked like he'd just been to the wrong part of town.

Quinn returned, holding her hands in a tight bundle behind her back as she took tentative steps towards him. Her cheeks were glowing slight red, possibly from embarrassment. She had certainly not expected Sam to walk in during a moment like that.

There was a brief moment where an eerie silence hung in the air before Sam spun around to face Quinn. "Care to explain?" he asked with a pleading expression.

Quinn sighed and nodded, leading him over to the couch by his hand. She sat him down and began going over the details of her afternoon, explaining how Beth had come to Quinn first and asked for an explanation. All the way through, Sam nodded and responded with 'oh's' and 'I see's'. It was a difficult conversation but they powered through it.

"Okay…" Sam mused and he puckered his lips slightly, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "And are you going to get to know her?"

Quinn hesitated. Was she? She'd hadn't even answered that question to herself yet. How could she reply to Sam? "I honestly don't know…" she whispered, staring off into the distance in a deep thought. "I mean, what would that mean for us? If she gets involved, will it affect our relationship?"

It was the exact same thing that Sam had fretted over earlier. It reminded him of why they went so well together - because they were so in sync, always on the same line of thought. "Well…" Sam sat back with a sigh and through his arm around Quinn who was tense, "I think that you should do whatever your heart tells you to… but only if you're completely sure. You've got to be committed to this reunion."

Quinn nodded, accepting that he was right as usual. "Yeah, that's true…" she mused, falling into his side and cuddling closer to him. "Would you be okay with it, though?"

Sam thought he felt himself stiffen but if he did, Quinn didn't seem to noticed so he ignored it. Was he okay with it? He wasn't so sure. But nevertheless, he wanted her to be happy and if that meant this… well, so be it then.

"I think it would be absolutely wonderful for you and that's all that matters." he stroked her hair gently and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Quinn grunted and squirmed beneath him but the smile on her face was apparent. "You've got to stop doing that!" she exclaimed underneath a giggle.

"What?" Sam asked, laughing slightly as he shifted to face her.

"Being the awesome husband. You make me feel awful."

* * *

><p>That evening, Quinn and Sam has sat down together for dinner. Sam had prepared his famous spaghetti and meatballs. He always claimed it was his recipe but both of them knew it wasn't - he'd stolen it from Quinn in college when she'd tried to teach him how to cook. It was probably the only dish he could make without setting the house on fire though, so Quinn was just fine with letting him take the credit. It was better to lose a bit of pride than terrify the neighbours.<p>

"Hey, how much do you remember about high school?" Quinn asked, curiosity clear in her voice. The topic had crossed her mind several times after seeing Beth. The whole experienced was still so surreal to her but it had caused her to think about the times she was pregnant - her journey, the people who had helped her… the people who _hadn't_ helped her or appreciated that it took a bit longer for her to get to class.

Sam's eyes widened at the out-of-the-blue question. He shrugged and pouted slightly as he dabbed his mouth with the napkin. "Enough, I suppose. I remember meeting you, my awful grades, my Bieber-cut… I think you can guess from those three that it was a pretty bad experience for me." he snorted sarcastically.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Shut up, meeting me has been the best thing that's happened to you and you know it, Sam Evans." she spat jokingly, quirking an eyebrow and cocking a smirk.

Sam smiled and nodded, his eyes full of pride and adoration as he watched his wife carefully. "That's entirely true." he admitted, reaching across the table and placing his hand on top of Quinn's.

Quinn jumped slightly and rolled her eyes, but she didn't pull her hand away. "You're doing that thing again!" she exclaimed with a giggle, intertwining their fingers playfully. She stroked his hand with her thumb.

"The one where I'm awesome? Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I guess it's just comes naturally, I'll try to stop it in the future if I can." he pulled her a wild, movie-star grin and he chuckled away at his own joke.

Quinn shook her head. "No, not that one! The one where you be really cheesy and freak me out, that one." she pointed out.

Sam's lips curved into a small 'o'. "Right, right… noted." he nodded, "You should really write me a list of all these flaws I have. It'd make it so much easier."

"No, I'm being serious, Sam. What do you remember from high school?"

Sam's face turned from mocking to thoughtful in a matter of milliseconds. "Well…" he sighed, "I don't remember a lot about the classes but I remember you and all of my other friends… Glee club, too. That was fun."

Quinn's thoughts turned over as she recalled the New Directions. Mr Schue had been right: life only really did have one beginning in one end. They'd grown up. It had taken her a second to remember all of their names and the songs they'd sung together. Apart from Sam of course. She couldn't forget him, he was such a huge part of her life.

"Anyway, what brings that question up? It was kind of off-topic, wasn't it?" Sam inquired, speaking with a mouthful of spaghetti as usual. Quinn had stopped chastising him over that the past few years because she knew he would never change some things.

"I don't know, I guess it was just… Beth. I mean, I had her in high school. That gives the whole thing a different meaning for me."

Sam's chewing slowed down moderately as he nodded. "Yeah, I suppose… I mean, I wasn't there with you at the time but I can kind of guess." there was a brief silence as both of them ate, the only sound being the scraping of knives and forks against their plates. "In some ways I'm kind of glad you had her." Quinn's ears prickled and she listened with a new level of attentiveness, "I heard you were a total bitch before."

"Hey!" Quinn exclaimed although she knew very well he was joking. "Still… kind of true though. Don't you wish you could go back and watch yourself? You know - analyse what you were like, watch all the petty high school politics play over again…" she mused in longing. There had been a time when she used to walk around the school like she owned it. People looked up to her, they wanted to be her. It was fun while it lasted.

"Nah, not really." Sam shrugged, ignoring her thoughtful glance. "I like it the way it is now. Just me and you living a quiet, simple life. I don't want anything more."

Quinn could feel a blush creeping on her cheeks. "You've _really_ got to stop doing that." she hid the desire to rush over to him and kiss him with her sarcasm, trying desperately to mask her affection for his adorableness.

Just as they were finishing up their meal, the familiar song of the household phone shrilled in their ears. With a groan, Quinn retreated from her spot at the dining table and strolled over towards the phone. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and leaned over the granite tops of the kitchen as she held the phone to her hair.

"Hello, the Evans household?" Quinn answered robotically as she had done for the past few months. She embraced the fact that she was now happily married to Sam even if people usually did know who they were calling before they pressed the dial button.

Still, this person seemed slightly lost as all she could hear from the other line was the sound of ragged breathing. Quirking an eyebrow, she waited a little longer before speaking up again. "Uhm… is anyone there?"

"Is this Quinn?" the voice asked abruptly. It was a masculine voice, very intimidating but there was something extremely familiar about it. Quinn just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Yes…" she answered reluctantly, her suspicion rising, "And whose calling?"

The person on the other end of the line exhaled. He was clearly getting ready to say something important or life changing, so Quinn listened attentively. She was still terrified though. Getting anonymous phone calls was not one of the most comfortable situations she could possibly be in.

"Quinn, this is… Noah. It's Noah Puckerman."

**Another cliffhanger! I bet you saw it coming this time. Anyway, just want to warn you readers that exam season is rearing it's ugly head… so I may not be able to update ASAP. I'll try my best but when you have another 7 of them fit into 2 weeks… yeah, it's not good! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

The air around Quinn thickened as she processed the words. _Noah Puckerman. _She put the name to the face, recalling _that_ part of her life more vividly than she'd ever done before. Her breaths became heavier as she tried to think of a way to respond. At the other end of the line, Noah called her name again, wondering if she was stiff there or had cut him off already.

Quinn grunted quietly and cursed under her breath, hoping that he didn't here. "One second…" she finally whispered before peaking back out into the dining room. Sam had cleaned up the plates and left them in a pile in the kitchen sink before retreating to the living room and flicking on the TV. Quinn sighed before gently closing the kitchen door over just to be sure that she was alone. "Why are you calling me?" she spat with a little too much malice in her voice. This was certainly not a good time for her.

"Hey!" Puck cried, sounding genuinely hurt. "Where's my 'how have you been'? Or, 'I've missed you, Puck'?" he inquired with a mocking tone to his voice.

Quinn groaned quietly, shaking her head. Although it was refreshing to know that some of her… acquaintances from high school hadn't changed, she wasn't pleased to find him on the end of the time. She didn't appreciate his sarcasm. "I'm serious, Puck." she pressed the question further, "Why are you calling me?"

Puck sighed. "Did you get an unexpected visitor today by any chance?"

The blonde held her breath for a moment, trying to figure out whether or not this was reality or just a mere fantasy. After a lengthy pause, she decided it was really happening and replied snappily. "Why do you care?"

"I don't know, I just kind of figured that our daughter was kind a big deal, you know." he spat sarcastically. Quinn could almost imagine his face as he said the words.

Quinn groaned. "Did she find you too? She told me she didn't find you." she babbled whilst massaging her temple slowly. Talking to this man was exhausting.

"Well, funny story…" Noah trailed off and Quinn could tell by his tone that she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear, "she found me before she found you."

Her breath was stolen from her throat. "What?" she spat a little louder than she had intended. "You can't be serious."

"The Puckster don't lie." Noah mused from the other end of the line. Quinn wasn't surprised to find that he was still calling himself that. "I kind of helped her to… find you. A little, anyway."

Quinn's eyebrows knitted tightly together. "But… we haven't seen each other for years. How on earth would you know anything about my life?" Although Quinn was furious about the fact that Noah had been working around her, she was more disappointed in the fact that her first encounter with her daughter had been pretty much a lie.

"Oh please, Quinn. We live in Lima. I could write an autobiography on you without anything but people who talk to help me. I've heard things about you."

"Or maybe you're just a stalker…" she murmured uneasily as she glanced out of the kitchen window. The rain was pouring down from the heavens now, each droplet hitting the pane of glass with an impact. The way they drizzled downwards and glistened was fascinating to Quinn… and distracting. "Anyway, how did you help her?"

"I just told her what I knew and she took it from there. That you live on the outskirts of the town. I heard you married that Evans kid too…" there was something odd in the way Puck said the words. It took a moment for Quinn to identify it but it was hope. He was _hoping_ that she would deny this and write it off as a petty rumour.

With a shaky breath, she ran her fingers through her messy blonde hair. "Yeah… yeah it's true." she tried not to sound too harsh with the words but she wasn't quite sure they gave the effect she'd been hoping for as Puck stayed silent on the other end of the line. "Uhm, anyway…" she finally managed to change the subject, "are you going to… keep in touch with her?"

"Yeah." Puck replied almost immediately. "Actually, I've been seeing her for a couple of weeks now." he didn't offer an apology or an elaboration on that but Quinn didn't expect him to. "What about you?"

Quinn bit her lip. Before she'd gotten this call, she was pretty certain that the answer was going to be a 'yes'. Now she wasn't so sure. Of course, the fact that Beth had begun the foundations of their relationship on lies was a negative factor. Then there was the possibility of Noah trying to keep in touch too… and she wasn't quite sure if she could handle that, let alone tolerate it.

"I don't know." she finally answered, her voice genuine as she gave her answer. Another silence fell in between them as she gazed off out of the window, at war with her own thoughts.

"Quinn?" Sam's voice called from the living room. Despite her troubles, Quinn instantly smiled at the warmness of her husband's voice when he said her name. It was tender and loving. He made her feel good simply by opening his mouth. "There's a space reserved for you on the sofa if you're showing up any time soon!"

Quinn laughed, confusing Noah slightly. With a sigh, she dragged herself back to reality and focused on the conversation. "Listen, Puck, it's been a long day and I'd really just like to-… hey, wait. How did you get my number?"

Puck scoffed. "A magician never reveals his tricks, baby. I'll talk to you later." he chuckled before hanging up, leaving Quinn questioning the mystery that was Noah Puckerman. It had always got to her - how he could be such a typical character yet he was a lot deeper than people thought.

Finally, she gave up on her conflicting thoughts. She rolled her eyes and hung the handset up, retreating the to living room and falling into Sam's arms.

"Hey, who was that?" he asked, pulling her close and planting a gentle kiss on the side of her head.

There was a slight hesitation before Quinn replied but Sam didn't seem to notice as he was so engrossed in the television. "Oh, just… the next door neighbour. She was just reminding me to water her plants for her while she's on vacation." she lied. She felt awful about it but she was sure that Sam wouldn't care to know of a harmless conversation anyway. They'd probably end up arguing over it if she was to have brought it up.

"Oh, okay." he sighed. After a minute or so, he returned his attention from the TV to his wife. If Quinn had felt about lying before, what he said next made her gut wrench in agonising guilt. "I love you, Quinn." he whispered tenderly before tracing her jaw line with his fingers. He pulled her towards him gently by her chin and planted a soft kiss on her lips to which she responded by kissing back.

"I love you too, Sam."

* * *

><p>Quinn let out a shaky sigh. This was it - she was going to do it.<p>

Her fingers were poised in the perfect position for typing. The small piece of paper when an email address scribbled on lay beside the computer monitor. All she needed to do was type something. Anything.

But no. She couldn't do it. She simply couldn't. She wanted to but something inside of her wasn't allowing her too. It was difficult for her to understand because she didn't want it to be this way; this was supposed to have been fun. She should have needed no encouragement to contact her daughter yet her she was, procrastinating and procrastinating.

Groaning, she stood up from the computer and paced the room for what must have been the thousandth time.

"What am I supposed to say?" she exclaimed incredulously, "I mean, I can't exactly just go, 'uhm, hi, it's your mom', can I?"

Sam sat on the sofa with a displeased expression over his face. "Just say what first comes to mind. That always works." he mumbled, more interested in the television than Quinn's endless whining.

"You don't want me to do this, do you? Oh, God. You don't want me to do it!" she cried, shaking her head nervously as she backed even further away from the computer, "I shouldn't do this. I'll just leave it. I can't-"

"Quinn!" she had been so consumed in her mindless babbling that she hadn't noticed Sam had rose from his lounging position on the sofa and walked over to her. He clutched her by the shoulders gently and gave her an encouraging smile. "You can do this." he whispered, tucking a strand of her behind her ear.

Her gut feeling was unsure but Sam managed to coax her into some sort of confidence. "Okay…" she replied, nodding gradually, "I can do this. I can do it."

"That's what I like to hear." Sam's grin grew wider and he patted her on the shoulder. "Now come on - get back to that computer! You know I'm right here if you need any moral support."

Quinn smiled softly and nodded, planting a kiss on his cheek before turning to the computer again. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and began to type what felt right.

_Hey, Beth._

_It's Quinn, this is my email address. I just wanted to take you up on your offer to get to know each other. I think it would be healthy for us both. Perhaps we could meet up sometime this week. We could go out for coffee._

_I'll be waiting for you reply. Please call._

_- Your mother._

It felt odd, writing those words. Quinn so was so used to referring to herself as without children it was surreal. When people would ask if her and Sam had kids, she would reply with a quick 'no' or 'not yet'. But what did this mean? If Quinn did take Beth under her arm, how would Sam refer to her - a daughter? Or his wife's bastard child from a teenage pregnancy?

She had zoned out slightly but Sam and read the email over her shoulder. He was now praising her as she pressed the 'send' button. "Well done, Quinn. I'm really proud of you." he spun her chair around so she was facing him. He cupped her face tenderly and stroked her cheeks with his thumb. "You did good."

Quinn could feel her stomach turning but she still managed to brave a smile. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. In time, the kiss grew deeper and deeper. Sam had pried Quinn's lips open and their tongues were now involved in full on contact.

She pressed her hands to her shoulders, lifting herself up off of the chair. He picked her up and threaded her legs around his waist, caressing her thighs softly. After a while longer of intense kissing, Sam stubbled backwards and they toppled onto the couch. Quinn fell on stop of her husband, straddling him. She leaned back from the kissing and sat up, removing her t-shirt.

Sam's eyes widened with desire at the sight of her tight-fitting, white and lacy bra. They hugged her breasts perfectly and he had to remind himself that if he touched them too soon, Quinn would shy away and this would progress into nothing more. He didn't want that to he simply grinned as he eyed them, waiting for Quinn's lips to make contact with his own again.

He groaned with pleasure as she slipped her hands up his t-shirt. Her petite fingers traced gently over his well-defined muscles as her kisses fell from his mouth to her jaw line. He closed his eyes, clasping her waist to steady himself. His head spun every time this happened.

Soon enough, they found themselves continuing to undress. She flung his t-shirt across the room, flipping him over so that he was lying face-first onto the sofa. She ran his hand slowly up his back, followed by a trail of hot kisses. "Do you like this, Sam?" she whispered seductively, nibbling on his earlobe once she reached it. Her fingers fell idol again once she reached the top of his shoulders. She decided to play with the waistband of his jeans.

Sam tried to think of something to distract him from his now growing bulge but he couldn't. All he could do was let out a moan of ecstasy and nod lamely.

Just as Quinn was about to flip him over again and reach for the zipper of his jeans, the doorbell rang. Sam let out an frustrated grunt as Quinn clambered off of him and collected her clothes from the floor.

She began to dress again, making it clear that their 'sexy time' was now over. After she had dressed and headed for the door, Sam let out another unsatisfied grunt. He hated that doorbell.

Quinn checked her appearance in the mirror of the hallway before clasping the doorknob in her hands. The last thing she wanted was their visitor to make assumptions about what she'd been up to. She had been quite enjoying herself but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her hand and dragged the door open.

"'Sup, MILF?"

Quinn could have guessed who was at the door even if she had fallen blind at that exact moment - Noah Puckerman. The wheels in her mind spun around at a scary pace as she felt her heart beating in her ears. It couldn't be true… not after all these years.

But it was true because she could see him, there in flesh. There was no change in him at all really apart from the fact that he'd grown a little taller and bulkier. The stress lines on his head were a clear indicator of more work and time in the sun. His shoulders were broader and he had even grown a little bit of stubble.

"Puck." she stated, her voice frustrated and hostile. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her tone hushed. The last thing she wanted was for Sam to come out and realise that Noah was at the door.

"Gosh, I thought you would have been a little more welcoming, Quinn." he chuckled sarcastically, stepping inside through the gap she'd subconsciously left open. "You shouldn't be rude to guests, it's not nice."

"What's also not nice is people showing up unexpected at awful times and then coming in without being invited." Quinn didn't elaborate on what 'awful times' meant, "Seriously, Puck. Why are you here? I'm busy and I have a lot to do and-"

"Hey, man!" Puck exclaimed as he burst into the living room and set his eyes on Sam. "It's been a while."

Quinn groaned, following the man into her living room. She was thankful to see that Sam had dressed himself. The last thing she wanted was Noah Puckerman questioning them on their sexual relationship. She looked over at Sam, expecting to see him a little confused and hostile, but his smile was bright and warm as he approached Puck.

"Hey, Puckerman!" he chuckled, taking him into a brother hug, "How are you?"

"Good, good." Puck replied, responding by hugging Sam bag. He then pulled away and glanced around the room, taking in it's features carefully. It was probably the first time the married couple had ever seen him study something so hard other than a woman. "It's a nice place you've got here…" he mused, running his fingers over the weathered leather of the sofa.

Quinn winced at the idea of him touching somewhere that Sam and her had just been involved in some hot, sexual contact. She pushed it to the back of her mind though and continued to quiz the old friend on his intentions. "Yes, well… thank you." she mumbled unsure of how to take that, "And why are you here?" she hadn't tried to sound so, but the spite in her voice was clear.

Sam nudged her from her side and shot her a warning look. The look said 'don't be rude' and she immediately felt awful but Puck had just walked in uninvited. You got what you were given.

"Ah, I was just around the neighbourhood." he replied, seemingly oblivious to Quinn's antagonism. "I heard you two lovebirds lived it, just popped in for a visit."

Judging from what she knew of Puck, Quinn didn't buy whatever crap he was selling - Noah Puckerman _always_ had some sort of ulterior motive. He wasn't just 'friendly'. Still, when she looked over to her right, she could see Sam nodding and smiling.

"So, listen - I have a proposition for you two." Puck began, proving Quinn's logic correct once again.

Sam smiled and nodded. "Sure, what is it?" he asked. Sometimes his unawareness was a real downfall.

"Do you have any spare rooms? Or is this any space on this sofa?"

Quinn didn't like where this was going one bit so she answered snappily before Sam could pipe in. The last thing she wanted was Sam offering the house over to Noah. "Why?" she asked immediately. It was true - they had a bed in the basement that could easily be turned into some sort of room. There was also plenty of room on the couch since they lived by themselves but Quinn didn't want to let him know that. Not until he came clean.

"I kind of need a place to crash. Could I move in with you guys for a while?" he answered with his usual non-serious attitude but what he was requesting was very, very serious.

**Oh, Puck. He's such a funny guy. I actually find him really difficult to write because he's hilarious and unpredictable but I try by best! Anyway, this chapter was a little more eventful than the last because that was more about displaying the intimacy of Sam and Quinn but this is where the real storyline kicks in. I promise a lot more Fabrevans than there has been so far. Thank you for reading and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**These updates are getting slower and slower… I'm really sorry! I hope you can forgive me and stay with the story even if the updates are this inconsistent :/ Exams get in the way of everything, haha! **

It took a moment for Quinn to collect her thoughts. Once she did, she opened her mouth to retort with an immediate 'no' but Puck spoke before she could.

"I know that it's a lot to ask and I didn't exactly give you much of a warning… but I really need this." he explained, his eyes full of regret. It was probably the first time he'd seemed at all serious upon arriving.

"Wait, why do you need this, Puck?" Sam asked, his voice full of compassion. He was the only thing stopping her from physically pushing Noah out of the house. Even if his naivety could be a downfall sometimes, there was no doubt that it was also one of the most lovable things about him.

"Well, I used to work in a garage on the outskirts of the town. I lost my job because I got really drunk on a night out once and showed up at the garage and… well, I don't need to go into details." he stopped in his tracks and Quinn and Sam were both thankful for that, "Thing is, my boss found the damage and fired me. Then I lost my apartment because I couldn't keep up the rent."

Quinn felt slightly bad for doubting him after that but that didn't change the fact that he'd still intruded. As much as she didn't want to deny a guy help when he needed it, she really didn't like the idea of living with Noah Puckerman until he found his feet again. "What about family?" she asked, her voice cold and harsh. She tried to keep it that way so that he would get the idea that he was unwelcome. "Can't you stay with my mom?"

"She's sick right now." he explained, the look of sorrow on his face blatant, "I don't want to put that pressure on her because Sarah still lives with her. Plus, she can't make me waffles if she's ill." the idea of a lack of waffles seemed more terrifying to Puck than being a burden to his mother. He expression that in his horrified facial expression. "Please? I'll help you guys out, I promise. I'll try and get a job really quick."

"No." Quinn spat reflectively, the venom seeping in her words a lot harsher than she had intended to be. "We can't."

"Quinn!" Sam exclaimed, his voice smothered in disappointment and anger. He looked at his wife and then his gaze flickered back to a desperate-seeming Puck again. With a sigh, he grabbed the blonde's wrist. "One moment, Puck." he excused them before dragging Quinn to the kitchen and closing the door behind them. "What's this all about?" he whisper-yelled, clearly furious that Quinn had been so hostile to on old classmate.

"What?" she replied, her eyebrows knitted tightly together. "It's the truth - we can't have him stay here. We already have enough to handle, Sam. What about us?"

If possible, Sam's eyes widened in even more shock. "Okay, where you just listening to the same conversation that I was? Because I've never heard you be so selfish." he shook his head in denial, refusing to believe that she had been so cruel.

Quinn let out an irritated grunt. "You can't be serious, Sam. We cannot, I repeat, _cannot_ have him stay here. What about our family? Children?"

Sam's eyes softened a little at the mention of a family but that didn't change the fact that he was still unable to believe what he was hearing. "Quinn." he pleaded desperately, "You remember what happened to me and my family when we were in high school, don't you?" Quinn grimaced at the mention of the rough period in Sam's life where his dad had lost his job and they had been forced to live in a creepy motel. "If you're not willing to help Puck, why did you help me?"

"That's different!" she argued, "_You're_ different, Sam. I would help you any day. He…" she trailed off on her thoughts. If every Noah had requested her help in the past, it was to encourage a girl on her Cheerios that she should date him or helping him with his schoolwork. And 'helping' with his schoolwork usually meant him copying it word-for-word, which she certainly didn't appreciate.

Sam shook his head, the disapproving look in his eyes tearing Quinn to pieces. She could feel her lips quivering just looking at him. She just wanted to be good enough for him. "I can't believe you." he simply stated. "You wouldn't do this for a friend? You heard Puck - he'll be out of here as soon as he can. And you turn him down straight away?"

"You're making me sound like a criminal…" she murmured, averting her gaze so that she no longer had to look in his eyes. She folded her arms gently across her chest as and rubbed her elbows as if she was protecting herself from the disappointment radiating off of him.

"Well, you're not exactly being kind, are you?" he spat, furrowing his eyebrows. Quinn didn't respond, she just continued to look away. So he sighed, unfolded her arms and taking her hands. She then flickered her gaze back to him gradually. "You're wonderful, Quinn." he smiled a genuine grin, causing Quinn's heart to warm instantly. All of the negative feelings were quickly disappearing and she could feel herself beginning to smile. "You're warm and kind and beautiful… but you're contradicting all of those incredible things about yourself if you don't help him."

Quinn sighing, intertwining their fingers tightly and watching him with an intense look of admiration. "You know exactly what to say to convince me into anything." she whispered, her throat swelling as if she was about to cry. "Even if that is allowing a beast like Noah Puckerman to contaminate our home." she switched to a brief sarcasm in order to remove the cringe-worthy atmosphere lingering in the air. Her eyes widened for a second as she shook her head incredulously.

"Hey, I heard that!" Puck called from the living room. Both of them giggled at his childish tone and a moment of silence passed. "…But is that a 'yes'?" he inquired, his voice more optimistic this time.

Quinn scoffed and shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she was about to say. "I suppose it is a yes…" she mumbled, "but I'm not happy about it!"

Puck burst into the room, his face alight with a grin. He looked like a 5-year-old who had just come to wake up his parents on Christmas morning. "Really?" he exclaimed, "You guys freakin' rock! Did I ever tell you that?" he pounced on them and dragged them both into an enthusiastic hug, smothering them both until they could barely breathe. "I'll go and get my bags, they're in my car." he quickly swept out of the room so fast that Quinn could've almost sworn that a gust of wind following.

"Was he expecting a yes…?" she pondered, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Sam laughed beside her, grabbing her waist and hugging her from behind. "Don't kill his buzz." he murmured, planting a gentle kiss on her cheeks. "He's clearly overjoyed right now."

Quinn nodded in agreement and patted his cheek affectionately. "You're right. I need a few moments to rethink what I've got myself into…" she murmured, removing herself from his grip and scurrying out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

"Hey, Quinn?" Sam called after a few moments thinking. "Just because he's staying… that doesn't mean that we cancel our plans to, uhm… _make_ a family… right?" he asked, his voice hopeful as he clenched his eyes shut and awaited an answer. He could hear a faint scoff that resembled an 'are you joking?' from the staircase. His shoulders sagged in disappointment as he jogged towards the stairs. It looked like it was going to be a long few months of cold showers and Coach Beiste fantasies.

* * *

><p>"This was a horrible idea!" Quinn exclaimed furiously as she paced around the bedroom. "I never should have let you convince me to let him stay. Why did I let you do that? Why?"<p>

Sam groaned quietly as he fell back against the headboard of the bed. He had been watching her mutter mindlessly to herself for the past ten minutes and it was becoming tedious so he decided to stop her. "It was just an accident, Quinn." he reminded her, trying to be gentle with his words, "Don't get so worked up about it."

"He nearly set our kitchen on fire!" she exclaimed, spinning to face him on her heels. The look of terror in her eyes caused Sam to shiver and momentarily pause in his logical thinking. She was terrifying when she was this angry.

It had been just 2 days since Puck had officially moved in and he'd already caused major panic throughout the household. They had set him up in the basement after figuring that the sofa may not be a good idea. If he felt like one of his 'midnight snacks' he would set off the alarm and most probably wake the entire estate up.

He had been no problem at first apart from the fact that he had completely taken over the TV and living area. Quinn was certain that his figure was going to be eternally imprinted into the leather if he continued to live like this. She felt like complaining to him that he should be out looking for a job but she had noticed him scouring newspapers and circling vacancies.

Just an hour or so ago, he had tried to cook himself some Mac and Cheese. Quinn had seen no obvious problem. Heck, she was actually kind of glad that he was getting up from the sofa for once. But that was before he'd created a fire on the stove and nearly destroyed their kitchen. It had taken an awful lot of effort to put out that fire - it was been extremely adamant that it wanted to stay - but they finally managed to do it without terrifying _all_ of the neighbours.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Quinn…" he cooed softly, crawling to the edge of the bed and taking her hand. He stroked it gently and drew small patterns on it with his thumb. "It's gone now and that's all that matters."

Quinn sighed although her eyes were still brimming with worry. "I hope you're right… we can't let him do that again. Do you think we should send him to cooking lessons?"

Sam laughed softly. He pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "I don't think that's appropriate." he whispered, planting soft kisses on her neck and playing with stray strands of her hair.

"Sam…" she mumbled, trying to distract herself from the sexual attraction she was feeling to him. "I told you before - we can't do _that_ while he's here."

"But, Quinn…" he purred softly, his kissing growing hotter and more passionate, "he said he would stay in the basement to keep himself out of trouble."

Quinn weighed her options. It was true - Puck had promised to stay away from the kitchen and in his room for a while as he had felt awful about the mess he had made. Still, he was Noah Puckerman. And the last time she had put her trust into him, he had gotten her pregnant.

With a sigh, she finally caved into Sam. She spun around and fell on top of him, wasting no time as she fused their lips together in hot, sticky kissing. She spread her fingers through his hair as she straddled him, panting as she tried to unzip her own dress and kiss him at the same time.

Sam hastily assisted her, causing the dress to fall loose at her shoulders. She shimmied it off quickly although it still clung to her waist, leaving her with a bare top half. They commenced with the kissing again as she rolled his t-shirt up and down playfully, tracing patterns between his chiselled abs. They both groaned simultaneously as he cupped her breasts in his hands, the cool touch refreshing to Quinn's senses.

Their clothes continued to disappear as time went on and their longing for each other grew heavier and heavier. Sam was left completely naked although Quinn's underwear still remained where it was. Just as Sam reached to the bedside table to find a condom, Quinn grabbed his hands. "Wait." she whispered, her head falling between the crook of his neck. "We'll go without."

Sam sucked up his breath as he panted, the rising and falling of his chest clashing with the unsteady beat of his heart. "What…? But Puck-"

"I know, I know…" she mumbled, nibbling on his ear. "But I want a family, Sam. I'm not going to let anything get in the way of that."

Sam could feel himself quivering as he nodded. He slowly pulled his hand back to himself and began to push his fingers through her hair. The kissing grew and grew but just as he was about to unclip her bra, a sudden noise woke them from their haze.

"Hey, are you guys- AH!"

Quinn shrieked in terror and fright as a new light peaked through the bedroom door. She reflexively rolled off of Sam and wrapped him in the sheets protectively as Puck stuck his head through the door with a curious look on his face, like he was about to ask a question. He had a feminine apron draped over his manly build and his hands were covered in a sticky substance that could have been food. It was clear that he hadn't kept his promise about staying away from the kitchen.

A few awkward moments passed and both blondes tried to catch their breath. Quinn's limbs shook with embarrassment as she clambered around the room, trying to find something to cling onto that could make her look more respectable or at least hide her bare bits. Nothing seemed to work.

"Awesome!" Puck exclaimed with his eyes lighting up once he identified the situation, "Can I watch?"

"Puck!" Quinn exclaimed furiously, her embarassment soon converting to sheer rage. "Get out - now!"

"But I just wanted to ask if you-"

"_NOW_!" Quinn shrieked, causing Sam and Puck to wince from the utter terror radiating off of the single word.

Puck quickly complied and scurried out of the room but the smile on his face wasn't hard to miss. Even if Quinn had frightened him, it didn't take away his usual joking nature. He may have left the room silent but in the distance, they could both hear him quoting 'Mean Girls'. "Can I get you guys anything? Some snacks? A condom? Let me know! Oh, God love ya."

Sam ran his hands over his face, swallowing the crazy urge he had to laugh. His cheeks were burning bright red as he relived the moment. "Oh my God…" he mumbled, completely unable to process what had just happened.

"Never again." Quinn muttered angrily as she began to recollect her clothing that had been flung around the room. "Never again!"

**Well, now you've had a taste of how Noah will be during his stay at the Evans's house. He's annoying as hell but that doesn't overshadow his adorableness! I just want to ask you guys - do you think I should change the rating to M? I know I haven't written a descriptive sex scene or anything and there's not been any swearing at all, but I just want to be cautious. Plus, it's been getting pretty hot between Quinn and Sam as you can see.. Haha! Thank you for reading :]**


	6. Chapter 6

**Another slow update but I'm trying! Today was English so it's unsurprising. I've been investing too much of the little free time I have into Tumblr… it's an addiction, I apologise. Still, here's the chapter. I hope you like it!**

Quinn sighed as she snatched her coat off the hanger near the door. She tied the smooth, silky texture of a belt around her waist and adjusted her hair in the mirror. Once she was pleased with her appearance, she grabbed her handbag from beside the door and flung it over her shoulder.

This was it. The day; the day that she was going to see Beth again. She wasn't quite sure as to whether she was prepared or not but she knew that she could put this off no longer. When her daughter had asked when she could see her again, it had been about two weeks ago. Quinn had enjoyed plenty of time to herself when she knew very well that she could have been seeing her daughter but she procrastinated and procrastinated until she was pretty sure that Beth was catching on.

Still, it was a struggle to force herself out of the door. The cool touch of the doorknob against her palm was refreshing but it didn't demolish her terrifying thoughts. She couldn't help but wonder what this girl was going to think of her when she actually got to know about her and her history. _God forbid she ever asks about how me and Sam got together,_ she prayed to herself. She certainly didn't look forward to explaining to the girl how she had cheated and they had spent an unbearable amount of time apart because of it. It definitely wasn't the conversation she was hoping to have.

With a grunt, she began to take the first few brave steps. She twisted the knob and dragged the door open, the cold February air hitting her like a train. She took a few tentative steps before a heavy hand fell on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly.

"Puck." she mumbled confusedly, needing now proof to know that it was him. She turned to face him. His expression was sincere, almost like he was hoping for something. After the week or two they'd shared with one another, she didn't feel much sympathy for him and all of the problems he carried but this time her eyes fell a little kinder. He seemed sorrowful.

"I have a question…" he murmured, twisting his fingers as his hand fell from her shoulder. He stared at the floor and gulped as Quinn gave him an encouraging look. She didn't exactly want to have to tolerate him right now but it was an excuse not to leave to see Beth yet. A lame excuse perhaps, but an excuse still. "Can I come with you?"

Quinn sucked in a sharp breath. She had been presuming that he would ask if he could have a woman over or be allowed into the kitchen again, yes, but she hadn't been expecting this. Her reaction empathised that initial shock and Puck seemed to understand, so he quickly cut in again before she could respond any further.

"I-I know it's kind of out of the blue and you don't really want me around right now…" Quinn felt a shot of sympathy and regret twist in her stomach as she thought of the many times she'd yelled at him this week, "but I just really want to see her. She's my daughter too."

"I-…" Quinn began but she couldn't finish. Her brows knitted tightly together as she studied him, trying to detect any ulterior motive. She could find none; for the first time in a long time, he was being genuine and truthful. Then, she caught on to something. "Wait - how do you know that I'm going to see her today? I only told Sam."

This time, Puck's face flashed guilt and any sympathy Quinn had held for him before vanished in an instant. "I kind of… looked at your browsing history." he admitted reluctantly, averting his eyes and the movement of his hands becoming even more awkward.

Quinn grunted and shook her head. She mentally chastised herself for not remembering this man for who he was and what he did. She should've have known he'd have done something wrong in the midst of all this. "How do you expect me to trust you if you do things like that?" she exclaimed, running a hand over her forehead and then down the left side of her face. She shifted her weight onto on leg and shook her head continuously.

"I'm sorry, I know it was wrong." Puck sighed, the sheer guilt in his eyes becoming even stronger if that were even possible. "But… just please, Quinn. I want to see her too."

"I don't think it's a good idea, Puck." Quinn answered truthfully. She may have disliked the idea of him being around but she could also think of other explanations to verify her opinion. "This is mine and Beth's time. She can meet up with you alone another time."

Puck nodded, his eyes full of sorrow. "Okay… I know, yeah. It's just-… I kind of lost her number. And her email address… and anything else she gave me." he pursed his lips in thought, wondering how he'd gotten himself into that position.

Quinn eyed him cautiously as she contemplated what she was about to do. "Fine, fine." she sighed and Puck immediately spun his head to face her. His eyes were brimming with hope. "You can come."

"Yes!" Puck chirped happily, punching his fist in the air out of rejoice. Quinn hadn't seen him this pleased in a long time.

"But only if you promise to behave yourself!" she reminded him scornfully. Visions of what had occurred lately flashed into her mind and she began to regret her decision to allow him to come but she couldn't go back on her word now; not after seeing the sheer joy in his eyes when she had permitted his company.

Puck nodded strongly with determination written across his features. "Yes, I promise." he assured her, grabbing her hand and dragging her into a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed, the grin on his face growing wider and wider.

"Okay, okay…" Quinn squeaked, barely able to breathe from the overwhelming force of his hug, "That's enough I think."

"Sorry." Puck quickly apologised, pulling back and helping her to straighten out her coat. "I didn't mean to do it so hard."

Quinn nodded as a signal of accepting his apology. Her lips were carefully pulled into a tight, thin line. "But I mean it - best behaviour." she cautioned him, her eyes flaring warningly. The look of loyalty that he shot her was enough to clarify that he would try he best. He then practically skipped out of the door and to the car.

The blonde sighed to herself as she took the steps outside and closed the door behind her. This was going to be a hell of a long day.

* * *

><p>They sat in the coffee shop, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Beth. Quinn kept her hands clenched tightly around her latte and Puck tapped his fingers on the wood of the small table, his eyes wide and alert.<p>

"Is that her?" he asked as a girl entered the shop.

It took all of the will power that Quinn had not to abuse him in public. "No." she spat sternly, trying to control her snarl. "First of all, you've seen her before so you know what she looks like. Secondly, that girl is ginger. And lastly…" she trailed off in sarcastic thought, "oh yeah, you're an idiot."

Puck pouted to himself when he was sure she wasn't looking. "Sorry…" he mumbled sarcastically, "I was just trying to keep my eyes open, you know. Red alert and everything."

"This isn't CSI, Puck." Quinn reminded him with a chastising tone, "You don't have to be on the look-out. When she comes, she'll approach us. Or we'll notice her and call her over. Okay?"

Puck nodded and averting his eyes, afraid that he was going to make a fool of himself again. It had already taken enough trouble to coax Quinn into letting him come; allowing him to stay with her was a different mission completely. He could already see it in her eyes and body language. She had the urge to send him home. So, he did what Noah Puckerman did best - he turned the charm on.

"So," he began, propping his hand up on his knee so that his elbow stuck out to the side, "How's your love life these days.

Quinn flinched slightly at the sudden question. She furrowed her brows as she looked over to him and saw him grinning from ear to ear whilst prodding his tongue into the wall of his mouth. He nodded suggestively at her. "Fine, thanks." she retorted stiffly and stone-like, trying to maintain her composure. "Why do you ask?"

Puck's smile grew wider if possible. "Just askin'. Wondering why you haven't got any kids yet… you still a prude?"

Quinn growled slightly under her breath so that it didn't sound too animal-like. It was taking most of the energy she had not to lash out on him. "That's absolutely _none_ of you're business, Noah." she reminded him sternly, using his first name for full effect, "I'm not going to sit her and play childish mind games with you in your failure of an attempt to seduce me. I'm with Sam now. We're not in high school anymore."

Puck's confidence was wounded quite severely by that. She was right - they certainly weren't in high school anymore. He'd always had the ability to seduce women quite easily, but what if he was running out of time? So much play left his forehead scarred with stress-lines. He simply wasn't the man he used to be.

Still, he continued to flaunt his flirtatious parade. "Oh yeah? Or maybe you're just avoiding the topic because you don't want to get turned on by my impeccable charm."

Quinn opened her mouth immediately to spit out an insult to him and how that was not at all true but their almost-argument was interrupted by a young blonde woman casually walking over to them. They both instantly recognised her as Beth. Puck replaced his flirty grin with a kind smile and Quinn did so with her snarl.

"Hi." Beth greeted them nervously as she took a seat beside them. She raised an eyebrow at Noah's presence but still seemed happy to see them both. "I didn't know you were coming…" she said though not at all hostile. Both of her parents could read the desire she had to call him 'dad' but they simply weren't that close yet.

"Change of plans." Puck answered, shooting a toothy grin at Quinn who simply responded by rolling her eyes. "I convinced your mom to let me."

Beth's smile grew a little wider and more comfortable. "Awesome…"

"Look, Beth," Quinn jumped in straight away. She placed a hand over the girl's and shot her a meaningful look. "I need to get down to the dirty stuff straight away; I don't appreciate you lying to me." Beth nodded and her eyes flashed with regret as she pursed her lips and listened carefully to what her mother had to say. "But I'm willing to look past this in order for this relationship to work. I have a husband and there's the possibility of another family coming into the picture soon but I'm more than happy to have you as well." through that last statement, Quinn had intended a snipe at Noah to back off although neither of them seem to notice.

Beth nodded determinedly. "Okay, sure." she replied, "I'm not going to lie anymore."

Quinn smiled to herself triumphantly. Now that the hard part of the conversation was over, they could start to get to know each other. And they did. They continued to chat about family life and work.

Beth did ask how she had met Sam and Quinn flinched slightly at the question and it's truth. Of course, Noah knew that truth but Quinn didn't go into the entire story. She just explained in brief detail how they had been together in junior year of high school, broken up and then reunited in college. Puck still smiled and shook his head as she tried to keep it on as little detail as possible. Still, she was thankful that he kept his mouth shut. It was unlike him.

* * *

><p>Quinn sighed as she stared at the invitation that had been slotted through the front door just a few hours ago. The badge on the front of the envelope attracted her attention but also caused her thoughts to convert into something a little more than what they were having for dinner that night.<p>

It was an invitation to a McKinley High class of 2012 reunion.

Thoughts of her high school days immediately took over her head, reminding her of all the lows and the highs. She thought about the people, the places, the things she knew. A time when life seemed so complicated and difficult but really didn't mean much in the bigger picture of things.

Yet, she knew that she had it harder than most. She may have been the Queen Bee at one point but social statuses fade. They change like the weather, especially in high school. In what seemed like just minutes, her position at that school fell so far that she died before the impact of the cold, dusty ground even hit her.

All because of a stupid one night stand, too.

It was hard for Quinn to believe that she was now living with the very same man that had done that to her. He put her through so much yet now she was allowing him to pretty much takeover her household. It was a bizarre reality.

Not that she had a problem with Puck staying. At first she may have, but as time had passed she had come to accept him more as part of the furniture. Or at least she was beginning to after the day they'd spent together, talking with Beth. She'd seen a different side to him; compassionate and considerate towards his daughter. Annoying as hell, maybe. A pain in the ass, surely. Still, a good guy down below. It was a reminder of the time he had promised her to take care of the family those many years ago.

"Come on, Quinn!" Sam pleaded, waking her from her muddled reminiscence, "We have to go - everyone's going to be there. You can see all of your old Cheerios. We could see the Glee club again. How awesome would that be?"

Sam wasn't the most developed speaker on the persuasive side Quinn had ever met in her life. His words weren't empowering or motivating to just anyone but he certainly had an effect on her decisions personally. She groaned quietly as she wandered around their bedroom, her face thoughtful. "Oh yeah." she scoffed sarcastically, "Like they'd want to see me. I was standing on their backs for half of their high school experience."

Sam rolled his eyes and followed her around the room, spinning her so that she came to face him. "You loved high school, Quinn. It was your territory!"

Quinn raised her eyebrows and then lowered them. "Sometimes I forget you weren't there when I was pregnant, we've been together so long…" she mused wistfully. If only Sam had been there during that rough period to make her feel like she was worth something. If only that child had been their own.

Sam smiled as the sentiment touched his heart. "Yeah…" he whispered. His face then clicked as he reminded himself of his true motive. "You're doing that thing where you change the topic again!"

Her lips quirked up into an amused smirk. "I'm very good at that, aren't I?"

Sam sighed, seeming rather deflated. Quinn could see it in his eyes, how much he wanted to go. She hated to disappoint him but she couldn't face those people again. She may have had it good compared to her high school days but she didn't want to be reminded of those times either. The invite itself had done it enough.

After a moments silence passed, she finally sighed. "Fine!" she agreed, throwing the invite onto the bed. Sam's face light up and he punched his fist in the air, pulling her into a tight embrace. "But let it be noted that I'm not happy about this. Puck already tried to convince me today. If he asks, it wasn't his doing."

"You spent the day in the house?" Sam's excitement began to fade as he furrowed his brows in confusion. "I thought you went to see Beth today. Please don't tell me you chickened out, Quinn! That's-"

"No, no!" Quinn waved off his judgement. "Puck… came with me." she admitted gingerly, walking towards the closet and beginning to sort through piles of clothes.

Sam felt something drop inside of him. It could have been his stomach or his heart; he couldn't quite distinguish it. "Wait… I didn't know he was going." he asked, walking towards her slowly. The concern in his voice was apparent but Quinn chose to ignore it.

"Well, it's no big deal." she mumbled, trying to distract herself with the clothes. "He asked to come, I said yes. She is his daughter after all."

Sam was about to argue against her, but she had a point. Plus, he didn't feel like it right then. Work had been taking it's toll on him lately and another pointless brawl between them would just make things worse. "Yeah… okay, I suppose you're right." he muttered, folding his arms across his chest and shaking his head. He tried to force a smile but it didn't come out as he expected it too. It looked more like his lips were struggling to accept the reality. "It was no big deal…" he whispered, walking out of the room.

He may have said that, but his heart wasn't so sure.

**And the plot begins to thicken… I hope anyway. I think that the reunion should be interesting to write. A few have asked if I will bring other characters in and this is the point where I will begin to do so. Many of them won't appear for long but I'm thinking about bringing a few in more permanently… anyway, please review! Thank you for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Please read this! I'm raising the fic's Rating to M now, for a clear reason you'll discover when you read the chapter. Since a lot of you have been asking about Sam and Quinn being endgame in this fic, I've realised that I haven't been putting enough of them in here. Therefore, this chapter is surrounding them solely, no Puck. It's not a particularly important chapter although one part may be but I hope you enjoy it. You got to love Quinn and Sam sexy time, right? :] **

"I can't believe it…" Quinn muttered, shaking her head in utter disbelief as she examined the damage made to the basement walls. "He's absolutely done it in!"

Puck often brought women home with him if he came back in from a night out. Quinn didn't understand how he could afford to drink without a job but she let him off as long as she checked hr purse and savings account, making sure it wasn't her money she was taking. Sometimes Sam and Quinn could hear the bed rocking in the lower sectors of the house. They chose not to question it but simply to ignore it, thinking that this was the best option - to pretend that it wasn't there. They had never bothered with it again until the problem had just made itself more noticeable.

When cleaning the basement, something which Puck had bribed her into after he bought her and Beth dinner a couple of nights ago, Quinn had discovered that he had done more damage than she'd expected. She'd shifted the bed in order to be able to reach the difficult corners of the room when she'd found the paint on the wall had worn away and the wall looked as if it were almost ready to cave in.

"How am I supposed to sell houses when I can't even maintain a decent house myself?" she exclaimed incredulously, tensing her forehead and trying to calm herself down. Judging by the amount of pacing and complaining she was doing, it didn't seem to be working.

Sam watched her unnervingly as she continued to mumble to herself, sometimes shouting to express her anger. He kept his lips pursed, simply glaring at the destruction that had been thrust (literally) on the wall.

"I suppose guys have needs…" he mumbled, trying to appease her gently. Quinn stumbled. She had completely forgotten he was there as it had been the first time he'd spoken. Puck was off scouring the town for work right now and although he was still concerned about his and Quinn's growing relationship with Beth, he didn't really want Quinn to come down on him at her most harsh. She could be petrifying when this angry, he had established from plenty of past experience. "I mean, I'm practically dying without-…" the evil glare Quinn shot him enough to shut him up completely. "Sorry. I'm just saying, don't lash out on him the way you always do."

Quinn's eyes widened. "The way I always do? Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" it yelled defensively, shooting up from his sitting position on an arm chair in the corner of the room.

"Well, I don't understand how you could mean it any other way!" Quinn retorted, her anger flaring even more rapidly than it had when she'd detected the dint in the wall. "You always do this! You act like I have some awful temper and it's your job to control it!"

Sam tightened his jaw, consuming all of his energy and using it to maintain his near-enough composed nature. "Come on, Quinn!" he scoffed, rolling his eyes as rising from his chair. He approached her. "Don't lie, you know that you have really bad mood swings. I don't know why you just don't admit it, it's not like I care! No matter if you know you're bitchy or not, you're going to be… well, bitchy."

The room fell silent and Sam immediately regretted his words. Of course, he couldn't take them back. He realised that as he watch her eyes flare, almost as if he could see the angry fire burning inside of her. Instead, he tried to convey his apology through his eyes. It made no different though because she wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Okay." she mumbled quietly, taking Sam slightly aback by lowering her tone of voice such a considerable amount. He had expected her to lash out even louder. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not respected around here." Sam immediately established that even if her voice wasn't as loud, she wasn't giving up on this. "So, why don't you enjoy this basement which you're so stuck on defending whilst I get ready for the reunion in the bedroom."

Sam was about to retort with something that sounded mildly intelligent but instead, Quinn got in the way of his response by doing what she did best - storming out. He was barely able to blink before she was spinning around on her heels and heading in the opposite direction at the speed of lightening. The ear-piercing crash of the door slamming shut behind her woke him from his trance.

"Ugh!" he groaned, running a hand through his distressed blonde locks. She was so temperamental sometimes. He honestly couldn't understand how he'd ignored it when they were in high school. He may have loved her but she was a lot of work.

Then, he thought about what he always did; apologise, make it up to her with something nice and then kiss her like it never even happened. But this time, he didn't really feel like doing that. It was time that she learnt a lesson instead of him always playing the bad guy. He tried so hard to keep her emotions and crazy hormones in check and what he get in return? Nothing, that's what he got.

Well, this was the last straw. He wasn't going to give in. He was going to show her that for once he could be the person in their relationship, the one who made the decisions and stood his ground. Quinn may have been quite the feminist when she wanted to be but there was nothing wrong with having a little masculine authority to go by. Every woman needed it once in a while, right?

* * *

><p>"Please, Quinn, just come out so we can at least talk about it." Sam begged desperately as he knocked on their bedroom door for what felt like the millionth time. Quinn still hadn't responded and the sound of his own voice was becoming tedious to him, his knuckles reddening a great amount from the relentless knocking on the door. His head was leaning against the wall, his eyes threatening to close over.<p>

"It's been ten minutes." Quinn finally replied, sprouting the tiniest amount of hope in Sam's heart. Her voice was muffled, probably by a pillow. She often lay stomach flat on their bed after they had arguments.

"Ten minutes too long…" Sam sighed wistfully, wishing she would just give it up already. He had tried to resists, he really had. But she had a hold on him. He didn't like to admit that he could be whipped, but it was true; she had him right under her thumb.

He detected the sound of rustling from behind the door and soon enough he could hear the familiar pattern of her feet crossing the creaking floorboards. _Finally!_ he thought to himself, perking up and facing the door directly. He had hoped that she would open the door wide enough for him to pounce in and wrap his arms around her so tightly that she'd never be able to break free of his grip but instead she simply peered through a small crack.

"I'm sorry." she whispered barely audibly. Her eyes reflected her apology. "I was a bitch."

"Naw…" Sam chuckled slightly, forcing the door open and taking her into a hug. Even if it was a little more gentle than he had desired, he was still satisfied. "I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"I guess we were both wrong." Quinn giggled slightly, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso and surrounding herself with his familiarly clean smell, the slight scent of his aftershave perking up her lousy mood.

"No more arguing." Sam demanded adamantly, kissing the top of her head and inhaling the smell of her shampoo. He embraced every moment that they could be close to each other because nowadays, those times were becoming less and less frequent. He often chastised himself for not appreciating them more in the earlier days.

Quinn nodded and sniffled up, pulling back yet still holding him gently at each side of his torso. The look she had in her eyes was so full of adoration that Sam felt privileged just to be witnessing it. He also realised that she'd shed a few tears which had escaped onto his t-shirt but nothing to worry about. She was clearly okay now.

"I agree." she smiled gently, nodding her head. "I hate it when we fight… I love you, Sam. I know I can be difficult but it's true. I wouldn't have married you otherwise."

Sam smiled brightly, all the previous gloom of the argument passing over the top of their heads. He was so pleased to get this alone time with her. She may have been off out with Puck and Beth a little more than he would've liked but when she showed him emotion, she showed him all and he couldn't be more grateful. "Ditto. God, doesn't all this drama just want to make you flip out a comic book or something?"

Quinn scoffed, rolling her eyes. "No!" she exclaimed, slapping his arm lightly and playfully. "There's a reason why I hid them from you. Do you not think you're maybe a little to old for them now?"

"I resent that accusation, Ms. Evans!" Sam gasped melodramatically. "You're never too old to have fun!"

Quinn quirked an eyebrow seductively, her laughing soothing down until she held nothing but a scheming smirk on her face. "Oh really now?" she asked, approaching him slowly. "Well, I can think of plenty of ways to have fun without a comic book in sight." she grabbed the tie that had been strangling him all day at work and began to loosen it whilst her eyes bore into his.

Sam could feel his stomach churning sweetly, the thrill of sex calling him forward as she slid her fingers between his collar and tie. He could feel his limbs beginning to quiver just by the simple touch of her finger. "I thought you said 'never again'?" he gulped, hoping that she sounded suave and hard-to-get rather than deflecting. He was trying not to think about it, in case she was just teasing him.

Quinn chuckled softly, bringing her lips up to his own. "I think I can make this one exception." she whispered, now dragging the tie off completely. They kissed and touch, undressing slightly before retreating to the bed.

Quinn pushed him forward, falling on the soft linen sheets as she straddled him and continued to strip herself of clothing. They touched and kissed erotically and romantically, as if they were unleashing all these need they had held for one another these few weeks when their sex had been limited. Almost as if they were exploring their bodies for the first time all over again. In nothing but underwear, they began to grind and rock up and down on top of one another, both of their arousing desires burned harder and louder.

As soon as Sam saw her begin to unclip her lacy white bra, her heart beat increased by a stunning rate. Her chest was impeccable and he made no effort to hide his blatant gaze of admiration as the underwear fell from her body.

She giggled, bringing his hands up and placing them on either one of her breasts. He needed no more encouragement than that and began to caress them, softly and smoothly. The warm and familiar touch of his fingers on her sensitive skin thrilled Quinn deeply. She threw her head back, her eyes rolling upwards in pleasure. Soon enough, Sam had tired of just touching; he wanted to feel his lips against her chest and use the unlimited exploration rights he had at this moment. So, he propped himself upwards on his elbows and began to press gentle kisses in between, around and on her nipples, causing the pink flesh to harden rapidly.

She groaned at the sensation of his tongue against her nipples, finally caving in. She quickly slithered her hand underneath his boxer shorts, causing him to gasp in ecstasy as she began to stroke him softly. Soon enough, her pumping increased and a sticky substance began to mount on top of her fingers. She laughed at the familiarity of it all.

Sam made a sound at the back of his throat which was something like a choke and a gulp mixed into one. Quinn took this as a warning signal and removed her hand quickly, pulling his boxer shorts down and sucked and bit at his neck as she rolled over and pulled him on top of her, so that he was now the one straddling her. He released one last grunt of anticipation as she guided him over her, positioning him directly before her entrance.

She nodded at him approvingly as a signal to forget the condom. He quickly complied as they had explored this conversation the last time they had tried to have sex. He just hoped that it didn't have the same outcome as the last. It was too late now anyway, because he was already pushing himself inside of her.

She gasped in pleasure at the thrill that she loved and adored so much yet this time it was improved, much more real. They didn't have the rubber of the condom separating them; it was just them, completely inside of each other for the first time in years.

They never often had unprotected sex. It had only happened once before during their marriage and once in their college years after an extremely drunken night out, one which they swore never to repeat. Quinn was still wounded by her wretched high school experience of sloppy, drunken, unprotected sex back then.

Now that she had nothing to fear, she felt no guilt about what they were doing, no worries or doubts. They rocked up and down against each other relentlessly and felt entirely in place, as if nothing was wrong. The only sounds were their own voices, gasping each others names. She clawed at his back due to the intense orgasm she was experiencing and he did something similar, although he tried not to hurt her.

Panting heavily, he finally pulled away and collapsed on top of her. They remained in silence for what could have been a good 15 minutes, spent solely trying to capture their breaths again.

"So…" Quinn finally managed to choke out. "Ready to go to that reunion?"

Sam laughed, his throat raspy and dry thanks to the work out he'd just had. "God, I've missed you." he mumbled.

**Yeah, like I said, not incredibly important but still a nice chapter I think to add that Sam and Quinn love back into the story. This one may be more about the dramatic side (which is yet still to come, so brace yourself!) but I still want to get their relationship right. I want to show how they've matured since high school, even if they do still have a few silly fights :D Thank you for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, my wonderful readers :] In my opening AN, I just want to thank you all for some of the great feedback you've given me. You guys are too good to be true! I just love you all and everyone who reads the story at that. And also, can I just take this time to say: I LOVE SANTANA LOPEZ! Okay? You may be questioning why I've said this but she is a mega bitch in this chapter. I don't hate her at all, she happens to be my second favourite female character of the show, so just so you know xD enjoy this chapter!**

"You look beautiful…" Sam whispered as they began to approach the main entrance to the school through the parking lot. Puck walked beside them but he was so engrossed by it all that he never seemed to notice their quiet conversation. Quinn wondered what his real fascination was, since he never showed up to half of the class.

Sam had seen that Quinn was clearly nervous though as her breaths were shaky and her fingers quivered during the drive, when she was absentmindedly tapping on the dashboard. He could hear it ringing loudly in his ears and distracting him from the road, the sound of her nails faltering every now and then.

So, he whispered these as words of comfort. He wanted to encourage her gently, promoting a positive mindset as it was quite clear that she had been dreading the following ours for some time now. He may have pleaded her that they came but he didn't want her to suffer. In fact, that was the last thing he wanted.

Quinn barely smiled. Her eyes were petrified as she tried to compose herself, raising her chin slightly as she eyed the doorway. She tried to respond to Sam a little more but she couldn't find it in herself. Her body had gone numb at the sight of the building where all those hopes and dreams were made and lost. She may have drove past it every day on her way to work but it was different thing to

Puck was already striding eagerly towards the bright light radiating from the surrounding darkness. He turned back as he came a few steps away from the entrance, looking over his shoulder to see what the hold up was. He was slightly irritated when he found it was just Quinn taking in her surroundings.

"Hurry up already!" he demanded, furrowing his eyebrows. "Everyone knows the party don't start 'til I walk in!"

Sam rolled his eyes once he was sure that the Mohawked man's back was turned. Then he turned to Quinn again, his face full of tenderness and compassion. "Are you going to be okay? Because you can go home if you want, I suppose. I'll just take care of Puck and you-"

"No." Quinn cut him off mid-sentence. She shook her head bravely and eyed the route in front of her, the sound of small-talk lingering in the air. "I'm going to do this." she breathed, sounding more as if she was trying to convince herself than Sam.

Sam smiled to himself and rubbed the small of her back soothingly before taking her petite hand in his own palm. "Good. I'm so proud of you." he reminded her, planting a soft kiss on her forehead before he began to guide her to the door. "You can do this… we can do this…"

The turn out was surprisingly good for a school reunion at a school where no one particularly liked each other, Sam thought. Well, at least most people didn't like he each other. His friends in the Glee club had been cool and Quinn too. He just hoped that some of them would have matured after the last time he saw them.

So, they headed straight to the place they knew best first of all - the choir room. Sam wanted to ease Quinn into the event, starting off in her comfort zone and then taking her back to all the those places she wasn't so comfortable with as the night progressed. Also, Puck was eager to catch up with Rachel, whom he dubbed his 'little American Jewish princess'.

Seeing the faces so changed and marked with time took Quinn by surprise. Many of her fellow Glee clubbers seemed entirely different to when she had known them, some with only the slightest resemblance of their teenage years. Eyes lingered their way the moment they stepped through the door, mostly due to the brash way that Puck burst into the room. Many of those faces were draped with surprise or shock, some of them joy.

"Quinn, Sam!" Finn bounced on them eagerly, the first in the room to approach them. "And Puck too? Man, it's good to see you guys." his grin reached his ears as he shook the hands of the two men and then patted Quinn gently on the shoulder. His smile was slightly forced because all the drama that had passed between the four had not completely disappeared but it had been made very clear that not one of them was here to reprise those feelings.

"It's good to see you too, Finn." Sam replied quickly, shooting a comforting smile in Quinn's direction. She still looked slightly like a deer lost in headlights but at least she was beginning to warm up to the atmosphere. "How's life?"

"Ah, everything's good. I've taken over Burt's tire store, nothing big. How about you?" there seemed to be some slight regret in Finn's voice as he mentioned his small, local job. He had hoped to go on to better things, clearly. Sam was about to jump and ask to why Rachel wasn't with him but he didn't want to stir. There was probably a reasonable explanation.

"Same, working on the local newspaper. Also I started up a small part-time business teaching some kids how to play guitar. It's not much but it helps pay the bills."

Quinn tried to listen but her attention-span was particularly short that night. She didn't really feel like listening to how Finn had failed to get into college and move away from Lima. She also didn't enjoy the idea of being around him; it brought back too many memories of her past self, the one she hated so much.

Glancing around, she realised that Puck had already sauntered off in the direction of Santana and Brittany who were chatting in a small circle. She had been wondering why he hadn't spoken yet. Then she thought about it; perhaps it would be nice to catch up with her old friends, put all that bad blood behind them. It couldn't hurt.

"I'm just going over there to see Santana and Brittany." she cut off Finn mid-speech, then feeling back that she hadn't even considered that he was talking enough to even know what he was babbling on about. She then gave Sam a quick look and a nod to confirm that she was okay before tip-toeing to the circle on the other side of the room.

The first thing she heard upon arriving was Santana's voice. "Well, my life has gotten so much better since I knew all of you losers. Now I don't have to hang outside liquor stores and ask people to buy me stuff; I can just do it myself."

A few people, such as Puck and Brittany, nodded in agreement at how 'awesome' that sounded although Quinn wasn't the slightest bit intrigued.

"Hey, Q. Didn't even see you come in, figured you'd be pregnant again." Santana stabbed at her cruelly, catching Quinn completely off-guard. "My bad."

Quinn swallowed harshly and then exhaled to make sure that she didn't lash out on the Latina. She guessed some people really never did change. "Nice to see you too, Santana. Had any plastic surgery? You might want to think about getting a little Botox, you haven't aged gracefully _at all_."

Santana raised her eyebrows in surprise, tilting her head slightly. "Wow…" she mused, studying Quinn carefully, "Didn't think you had it in you, Fabray. Well done - you pass. Now scram aforez I _make_ you go."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Puck cut in before slinging a lazy arm around the blonde beside him. He raised his palm in Santana's direction. "No need to for name calling or snipes, guys. I don't want my favourite ladies getting in a huff. That'd just leave me in the middle and while that might be a typical night in the Puckster's bedroom, it's not cool at a school reunion."

Quinn shook her head and sighed disapprovingly as Puck raised and lowered his eyebrows multiple times at her, trying to be somewhat suave.

"What about you, Brittany?" Puck asked, nodding in the direction of the ditzy blonde in order to diffuse the growing tension. "What are you doing nowadays."

"Santana." Brittany smiled brightly, nodding her head contently. "It's awesome."

Santana's eyes bulged in shock as both Puck and Quinn tried to hide their giggles. His arm was still loosely thrown over her shoulder. She then nudged the girl beside her with a little more force than she should have.

"What Brittany means, is," Santana cut in, shooting Brittany a look that could kill, "she's a vet."

"I specialise in cats."

Quinn and Puck's chuckles halted immediately as they shared awkward glances.

"Wait… Brittany, if you're a vet doesn't that mean you have to go to… college or something?" Quinn asked cautiously, hoping not to sound too blunt with her words. She didn't want the blonde immediately getting the idea that Quinn thought she was simple but that seemed highly unlikely anyway. Still, Santana was stupid. She could pick up on it.

Still, Brittany nodded as if the conversation was nothing but light chit-chat. This caused Puck and Quinn to share another small glance at one another but this time it was Puck who broke the silence. "How did you manage to… get in there?"

"Hey, leave Brittany alone!" Santana demanded before anyone else could interfere, her voice causing a few glances to be thrown their way by various other members of the room. "If she wants to be a cat doctor, she can, okay? It's none of your bees-wax."

Just at that moment, Sam began to wander over to the four of them. His conversation with Finn had been casually dismissed as Finn had struck up some small-talk with Tina and Mike and so Sam had decided to join Quinn and make sure she was okay. Always concerned for her safety - it was his top priority.

"So, what about you two?" Santana changed the subject, indicating her words towards Puck and Quinn, "Are you actually together or just doing the dirty with each other? I figured he'd have you knocked up by now, s'kinda surprising."

"What?" Sam cut in immediately, causing Quinn to jump slightly as she hadn't noticed his arrival. For the first time she seemed to notice that Puck's arm was still lingering around her shoulder. She hastily shimmied him off, hoping that Sam wasn't too alarmed by it. Thankfully, he seemed to be more stunned by Santana's assumption than her physical closeness to the Jew.

"Oh hey, Lady Lips. Wow, your mouth is even bigger. I never thought it was possible." the Latina sniped at Sam, a pleased smirk painted on her face.

"Oh, no, no." Quinn held her palms out in front of her, hoping that her interference would soothe Sam's apparent anger. "We're not together at all. I'm-I'm married to Sam, see!" she lifted up her ring without hesitation, pointing to the obvious diamond and clasping Sam's hand in her own, intertwining their fingers.

"Really?" Santana raised a questioning eyebrow. "Because I heard a nasty rumour that Beth Corcoran met up with you guys and now you're 'rekindling your love' over the 'possibility of a family'." she narrated the rumour, inserting a thick, sarcastic tone.

"That's garbage!" Sam retorted angrily. He didn't really have much against Santana. They may have dated but he didn't think twice about it, or the break-up.

"Are you sure, Sammy? Or maybe you're darling wife over here isn't telling you everything. She's lied about him before. I don't see why she wouldn't do it to you."

"That's enough, Santana!" Quinn yelled so that the entirely room was now eyeing them cautiously as if a riot were about to break out any second. "Come on, Sam." she coaxed her gently, tugging him by the hand in the opposite direction. She didn't want to leave because that was a sign of weakness and Santana could detect that like Puck did women, but she certainly wasn't going to stick around to hear the Latina insult her and her family.

"Whatever, Q. Just make sure you don't get yourself knocked up again, okay?" Santana made a clicking sound in the back of her throat as she waved the two blondes off sarcastically.

"I'm so sorry about that…" Quinn apologised, shaking her head in disbelief as they reached the hallway. "She's such a bitch!"

Sam was trying to process what Quinn was saying but he couldn't. Sp, he just nodded dumbly along to anything she said. He was still stuck on what Santana had said back there, trying to ignore it and write it off as nonsense. He'd once heard somewhere that there's always a little truth in every rumour - he wasn't certain where or who from but he was deciding to trust his instinct and say it was some kind of fictional character he adored - and that terrified him. She had been spending a lot of time with him lately and their friendship was growing. Maybe…

"Sam? Sam!" Quinn snapped him back to reality with the harsh tone to her voice. He immediately straightened up from the wall he'd been leaning on, looking her directly in the eye. All the negative thoughts spinning around in his noggin were suddenly dismissed as a warm feeling sprouted inside of him upon looking at the beautiful face of his wife. "You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?" Sam's mouth opened as he tried to retort with a 'yes, I was!' but Quinn beat him to it. "I knew it! God, this was an awful idea…" she began to hurry down the hallway, muttering quietly and chastising herself.

"No, no!" Sam followed her, "Quinn, stop." he commanded, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back. "This was a good idea. This is good. Okay? It's getting rid of all of those feelings that you've kept locked up for so long. Just give it a chance."

Quinn tried to think of a clever way to reply with how that was stupid but she couldn't fault his logic. This could be therapeutic. She just needed to give it a chance. "Why do you always chose to be smart when it matters?" she sighed heavily, allowed him to wrap his arms around her. The touch of his bicep on her shoulder was much more familiar than that of Puck's and the way her slender build fit into his larger, more buff physique was righteous in every way.

"It's called 'Sam logic'." he explained jokingly, "It's a very rare thing. You have to be very special to have it. Lucky for you, you have someone as awesome as me who does have it around you, so you don't even need it."

Quinn scoffed, rolling her eyes as they headed back down the opposite end of the hallway. "Yeah, right. And this is the same 'Sam logic' you used on our first date at Breadstix to seduce me? You know, the one where you decided that the corny jokes, awful impressions… fictional languages were suave and flirtatious?"

"Totally. And look where we are now!"

**I really like this chapter, I don't know why :3 I just enjoyed writing it and I like all the interaction between the Glee clubbers. This isn't the end of the reunion. It's going to continue in the next chapter, which is good for me because I get to write a range of characters. Hopefully you'll like it too! Thank you for reading, all your feedback is love, love, love.**


	9. Chapter 9

"Tina, Mike! It's so good to see you!" Quinn giggled as she approached the two Asians who were smiling gladly upon her arrival.

"Quinn!" Tina exclaimed. They may not have been the best of friends in high school per say but they had never disliked each other. Tina had been good friends with Mercedes who was a fan of Quinn, causing Tina to also think highly of her and respect the former head cheerleader. "How are you?"

"I'm really good thanks." Quinn grinned widely as she pulled Tina into a hug. She was pleased after realising that many of the bad blood from high school, Santana aside, had now been put to one side. Her mood was far more upbeat. Mike also offered her a hug, kissing both of her cheeks politely. "Married?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Tina nodded excitedly, glancing Mike's way as he slid a loving hand around her waist. "Two years now." she declared cheerfully, flashing Quinn a decent glance at her ring.

"Wow…" Quinn mused with delight as she admired the gold piece of jewellery. "Congratulations! I'm very happy for you guys."

Just as Mike opened his mouth to participate, his words were stolen from him as Puck approached the three of them. Quinn closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. _Keep your calm, Quinn,_ she instructed herself upon his arrival.

"'Sup, guys!" he greeted them with a flashy grin, slithering his own hand around Quinn's waist. She flinched slightly in at his touch but she wasn't in the mood to embarrass herself in front of Tina and Mike so she kept quiet. "How's it goin'?"

"Puck, good to see you too." Mike smiled genuinely, patting Puck on the shoulder with respect. "We're great thanks. And you?" Quinn had to admit that the small talk was repetitive and partly irritating but she was growing immune to it as the night went on.

Puck simply raised his eyebrows multiple times in response to Mike's question. After being in the football team with the Mohawked boy for the majority of their high school lives, Mike didn't even both questioning what Puck meant by this gesture - lots and lots of sex.

Quinn cleared her throat, trying to make it apparent to Puck that she was uncomfortable with the situation he had forced her into. He chose to ignore her so she didn't push it no further. He could been extremely stubborn and she wasn't going to take her chances, not tonight.

"So!" Mike chimed, hoping that Tina hadn't caught him grinning at the indirect reference to sex. "How about you two? How long have you been together?"

"What?" Quinn exclaimed. That was the last straw for her and she shuffled out of Puck's grasp almost before Mike could pronounce his last syllable. "No, no, we're not together. Not at all. He's just living with Sam and I while he… finds his feet again." she laughed awkwardly, wringing her fingers in frustration. He palms had been sweating for most of the time. She was terribly paranoid of people referring to her and Puck as a couple. Mercedes had also assumed the same thing.

The Asian couple's eyebrows both raised in surprise simultaneously. "Really? Wow, I just supposed…" Tina began but she couldn't find the correct ending to that sentence.

"Don't worry about it. It's not a problem." Quinn held her palms up and shook her head reassuringly.

"Yeah, it's fine. I can totally see why you would assume someone as smokin' as her would be with someone as equally hot as myself." Puck participated. His tone was light and joking but Quinn knew that he really wasn't joking at all. It was simply the way he spoke.

"Oh, okay… sorry about that. Well, we're going to go and catch up with a few others. Maybe we'll speak to you later." Mike terminated the now intensely awkward conversation. They all exchanged a few polite goodbyes before Tina and Mike trotted off to the next available conversation. It had to be better than chatting in a tense circle like that.

"What was all that about?" Quinn exclaimed, trying to keep her voice hushed in order to steer away any unwanted attention. It was becoming increasingly difficult though because she couldn't seem to calm her livid facial expression.

Puck shrugged, pouting his lips slightly before reaching over to the snack table and shoving a couple of Cool Ranch Doritos in his mouth. "I don't know what you're talking about…" he mumbled, making it difficult for Quinn to distinguish what he was saying through all the chewing.

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean!" she scoffed, shaking her head in frustration and disbelief. She may have been discovering how to control her temper around him but he was certainly pushing her boundaries. "Your hands all over me, the obvious flirting… are you trying to ruin my night? Is this a special occasion for you or something?"

Puck rolled his eyes at the dangerous flare of the blonde's temper. As she was learning to cope with his ignorance, he was also finding out how to let her outbursts of rage fly over his head like they were nothing. "It's just a bit of harmless fun, MILF. I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal," she began in a sarcastic tone as she folded her arms tightly over her chest and took steps towards him, "is that I'm with Sam now and you're making me seem like a whore to the entire class."

To Quinn's surprise, Puck laughed. "If you're trying to intimidate me, it's not going to work. No chick scares Puckzilla." he warned her, jumping forward slightly in a lame attempt to frighten her.

For a moment, she simply glared at him in disbelief. She then closed her eyelids gently and let out a heavy breath. After counting slowly backwards from ten in her head in a failed attempt to realise all of her anger, she spoke sternly. "Just go home, Puck." she sighed angrily before turning on her heels and beginning to walk away.

"Hey, no! Wait, wait…" he called desperately, following her and spinning her back around by her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I'll stop it, I promise."

Quirking an eyebrow, Quinn shot him a look that screamed 'you don't expect me to believe that, do you?'. She didn't think that he'd assumed she was that gullible.

He groaned, throwing his head back slightly. "Look, I know I'm being rude and everything but I just want to prove to all of these guys how cool I am." she would've laughed at how he established his 'cool' as permanent if she wasn't so annoyed. "I'll make it up to you. Okay? I can even give you a cool dinosaur nickname. Like… Quinnzilla! Come on, you can't say no to that. That is pure gold in the world of nicknames."

This time around, Quinn did let out a small chuckle at his childish behaviour. It was difficult for her to mask a smile so she had finally caved in. "Fine, stay then…" she mumbled but made sure that he knew she wasn't pleased about it via her facial expression, "but you really do have to tone it down. Sam won't be happy if-"

"What, do you do what he tells you now?" he scoffed jokingly. When Quinn didn't reply, his light expression was replaced with something a little more serious. "Oh my God, you do, don't you? You know what, Quinn, if you really want my nickname, you're going to have to earn it. I mean, I can't just go around calling you 'Quinnzilla' if you're about as intimidating as one of those Koala bears at the zoo."

"Hey!" Quinn exclaimed defensively, shrugging out of the hold he had on her shoulders. "I could be intimidating if I wanted to… making Sam happy comes first. Besides, Koala bears have claws, everyone knows that."

"Prove it then." Puck stated, folding his arms and studying her with a judgemental glare.

"I don't have to prove that I'm worthy of your silly little nickname, Puck. You're really making me seriously reconsider allowing you to stay here…"

"When was the last time you had a night out?" he asked. The question seemed slightly out of the blue but Quinn soon picked up on where this was going.

"No." she shot back at his instantly, shaking her head with determination. "You are _not_ dragging me out, not tonight, Puck. I have work tomorrow and I can't-"

"Oh, _come on_, Quinn!" he groaned loudly, causing them to receive a few glances from the other occupants of the room. Quinn rubbed her own elbows self-consciously as she tried to seem as if she were separated from the childish man. "You don't have any fun. You're life is _so_ boring. I mean, all you ever do is yell at people and sell houses and go to church and moan at me to get my ass of the couch."

"Clearly it's not working very effectively…" she mumbled although he didn't acknowledge it.

"You should go out, just for one night. There's a few of us going to crash downtown after all this is over." he explained, gesturing to the room around them. "You know them all. There's a big group of us so you won't have to worry about 'trusting me' or whatever it is you chicks do nowadays."

Quinn bit her lip in thought. Sam had wandered off to the men's rooms a couple of minutes ago and then began small-talking with former classmate. She supposed it couldn't hurt to go just as long as she informed him beforehand. They were married now. They could trust each other.

"And you promise we'll be back at a respectable time? And you'll keep your hands to yourself?" she interrogated him sternly, looking deep into his eyes in order to detect any hints of guilt.

"I promise." Puck replied with a soft nod of the head to confirm his words. He offered his hand to her. She glanced over it quickly before dismissing it and turning in the other direction and off to locate Sam. Puck didn't need to question it any further; he knew he had a definite 'yes'.

* * *

><p>After strolling around half-heartedly, Sam had come across Finn again. They had sparked up another conversation, one in which Sam had finally felt brave enough to question Rachel Berry's whereabouts.<p>

"So why isn't Rachel with you?" he asked casually although he was insanely curious.

Finn's face fell immediately at the reference to his ex-girlfriend. "Oh…" he mumbled sadly, twiddling with his thumbs. During high school, Finn and Rachel had patched up their relationship once his and Quinn's had ended. They had endured all the ups and downs of senior year and had graduated as an item but Sam nor any of the people he'd stayed in touch with had heard of them since. He felt that now was a good time to question it.

"Hey, dude," Sam placed a comforting hand on the taller man's shoulder, "if it makes you uncomfortable, we don't have to talk about it. It's cool."

Finn shook his head. "Nah, it's fine." he sighed heavily. "Rachel's dreams were always bigger than me. She had potential. As soon as we graduated, the first thing she did was jet off to New York. I couldn't follow her, we didn't have the money and Burt was getting sick so I had to take over the tire store… I tried to keep up a long-distance relationship but those things really are as hard as they say. I guess it just didn't work out."

Sam bit his lip regretfully at the sorrow in his old friend's voice. "I'm sorry, man." he sighed, genuinely meaning his words. "Have you dated since?"

Finn scrunched his face up and shoved his hands in his pockets self-consciously. "Nope…" he answered, glaring at the floor. "I mean, I've been out with a few girls once or twice but work has kept me busy. You know how those… tires can be." he finished, trying to sound somewhat mature and cool. Instead, it just came across as a lame attempt to hide the fact that he'd been too heartbroken to date at all.

Just as Sam was about to respond with a kind gesture and a hard try to make him feel better, he noticed Quinn approaching them. Her face was painted slightly with some sort of guilt so he immediately expected the worst. Still, he greeted her as he would every time.

"Hey." he smiled lightly as she pecked him on the lips gently. She slid her arm around his torso and pulled herself close to him. "What's up?" he asked, leaning his head on hers. Finn found the situation slightly awkward due to their past but Sam and Quinn both pushed those feelings aside. They refused to deny their emotional attachments in order to fit someone else's needs.

"Listen, a few of the guys are going downtown tonight. I was wondering whether I could…-" she lost her trail of thought when she noticed Puck approaching from behind Sam.

He cut her off immediately, pouncing into the conversation. "I invited her to come with us. She's gonna have some fun." he spoke oh-so casually.

Sam raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Finn momentarily who refused to look anywhere but the floor. "O-Oh… you want my permission if you can go?" he asked. He felt her nod from beneath her. With a heavy sigh, he removed his arm from around her. "Well, are you sure? I mean, you and I both have work tomorrow. I won't be able to stay up late to let you in the house, you know that."

"It's okay, I have my own keys, Sam." she laughed slightly, trying to lift the heavy tension which had settled in between them. "I'm not a baby."

Although he knew he didn't have proper reason to, Sam took that last part as a harsh blow. Swallowing the painful lump that was forming in the back of his throat, he nodded. "Yeah. Go." he dismissed her through the blunt tone he used.

Furrowing her eyebrows slightly, Quinn felt an odd twist in her stomach. He faced forward as opposed to looking at her with the admiration he usually had. "Okay…" she mumbled self consciously. She propped herself up on her tip toes, expectantly awaiting a kiss. He didn't return the gesture so she ended up planting a half-hearted one on his cheek. "I love you…" she squeezed his hand before beginning to walk away.

"You too…" he murmured just before she was out of ear-shot. He watched her go, his eyes lingering on her as she began to head for the door with Puck at her side. He flung an arm around her and although he could notice the obvious ridged stance she took on, he still felt his anger flare exceptionally.

"What? You just let her go like that?" Finn exclaimed incredulously. Sam had seemed to have forgotten that he had even been present during the conversation since he had been so utterly silent. Sam's gaze flickered towards the other man questioningly. "Dude, she just got off with Noah Puckerman. Why didn't you say no?" the way Finn said Noah's name made him sound like all things terrible.

Sam furrowed his eyebrows slightly, throwing his thumb in the direction of his wife and her companion. "They're just going out for a while. It's no big deal."

Finn's eyes widened noticeably. "Dude, if I were you, I wouldn't have even considered it. You know what Puck is like. I wouldn't trust him; he got her pregnant behind my back _when she was drunk_." although Quinn hadn't mentioned drinking, Sam was aware that it was the reason she was going to town. Something in Finn's logic sounded extremely reasonable but he chose to raise up his defence wall anyway.

"Hey!" Sam yelled a little louder than he had initially intended to. Surrounding people began to glance over in their direction. "Just… don't tell me what to do, okay?" he spat before turning the cold shoulder on Finn and sulking off in the opposite direction.

**Well, I don't have much to say after that apart from the fact that I hope my updates will be more recent. I have some time off school now so I should have more time to write but I also have to revise, go to some church meetings, catch up on my reading etc, etc. Thank you very much for reading and I'd love it if you would review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I am so, so, so, so sorry about the horribly slow updates. I'm an awful person, you can tell me. To make up for it, I've tried to make this chapter a little longer than usual. Originally, this was supposed to have been written as 2 separate chapters but I've squeezed them together as an apology. Also, a lot of you guys asked told me you want Rachel to appear and you may be pleasantly surprised. I may add a Finchel plot line. I hope you'll enjoy and appreciate it - I think it's safe to say that a lot of drama occurs!**

Sam opted to remain at the reunion a little longer. After Finn had warned him, he was beginning to regret his decision to allow Quinn to leave with Noah. He didn't like the idea of his wife and Noah Puckerman riding around the town like lunatics and high off booze at all but he refused to be the controlling, manipulative husband. Therefore, he just hoped that small-talk and chit-chat would take his mind off of the opposing matter.

It was never forgotten - the issue played on his mind for the majority of the night - but as soon as he caught his first glimpse of Rachel Berry, the feelings simmered down slightly.

She sauntered through the doorway in all her glory. Sam immediately felt for Finn, who had only tried to be the voice of reason, and would now be forced tolerate the fact that his ex-girlfriend whom he still seemed to still feel deeply for had made a jaw-dropping appearance. Then again, Rachel Berry never often made an entrance which was anything but enticing and worth filming.

She burst through the doors whilst dressed in designer clothing from head to toe. Jesse St James himself held her arm. They glanced from side to side, studying the previous classmates but other than that not paying much attention. Clearly not much had changed from high school. Life had done her good so far, Sam established, judging from what he saw.

Sam temporarily glanced over at Finn. The poor man was hanging his head down. He was clearly someone trying to contain the feelings he had for the brunette. He was finding it devastatingly difficult to cope with the current situation.

For a moment, Sam bit his lip and considered going over to support his old friend but then quickly decided against it. The last thing Finn would want was pity. Sam knew he could understand the feeling, despite all the bad blood that had passed between them.

Instead, he opted to make something a little more useful of himself; he became an obstacle in between Finn and Rachel. He immediately approached the soon-to-be Broadway star, sporting his most charming smile.

"Rachel!" he exclaimed happily, although he wasn't too sure Quinn would approve of their encounter. She still wasn't found of the brunette despite the many times Sam had tried to convince her there were good things about being obnoxious and awfully loud even if he had never really been so sure himself.

Rachel plastered a similar smile over her own face, planting her hands on her hips as she admired the man before her. "Samuel Evans!" she greeted him formally, "Well I never… you haven't changed a bit." There was a classic, old-school glamour in her tone, immediately causing Sam to feel the need to admire her.

Jesse paid no attention to Sam - they had only briefly met near the end of Junior year - but still watched closely as the two exchanged words.

"I would say the same for you except… well, you have. You look awesome, Rachel. Really awesome."

"Why thank you, Samuel. I have to say, I am exceptionally proud of myself for this drastic change of image. It may be a far stretch of the imagination compared to my teenage days of stockings and animal sweaters yet I feel… much more myself in this new clothing."

Sam hadn't been lying when he said she looked awesome; she did. Her silk red gown and heels with a fur jacket made his simple dress shirt and pants seem… well, simple.

"And how is your life nowadays, Sam?" Rachel inquired, a thoughtful expression now taking over her face. "Married? Working? Children? I'm intrigued to know more."

Sam cleared his throat. He had hoped he could have avoided the topic of Quinn, not only to ease his mind but to keep on the safe side of Rachel's feelings. Still, he wasn't about to lie. He was proud of his wife even if he wasn't pleased about what she was doing. "Well, actually…" he sighed happily, "I am married, yes."

"Oh wonderful! Simply enticing, Sam. And to whom would the lucky girl be, may I ask?"

"Uhm… Quinn, actually. Quinn Fabray." he admited with a shy smile, trying to ease the tension as he itched the back of his neck.

Rachel clearly tensed up at the mention of her former high school enemy but still somehow managed to maintain her polite façade. "Ah… Quinn. That name surely brings back some memories. Some of them perhaps not to pleasant, but still, memories all the same."

"Okay." Jesse finally sliced into the conversation, the singular word he used dismissive enough to send anyone away. "Rachel and I have a busy schedule. I believe your time is up, Mr. Evans. Have a nice evening."

Sam opened his mouth to protest or at least argue that you couldn't put a time on good conversation but Rachel and Jesse were already heading off in the opposite direction. With a sad sigh, he turned around and scanned the room for Finn. He met the taller man's eyes for a moment and all he could see was sadness. He offered him a comforting smile. It said_ 'I tried.'_

Finn shrugged, pouting his lips slightly as he seemed disappointed._ 'I know.'_

* * *

><p>Countless empty shot glasses were all Quinn's eye could see for a long stretch of the bar. Loud music almost burst her eardrums, mixed with the constant sound of drunken voices rambling mindlessly. The atmosphere was good, despite the stingy circumstances so she was enjoying herself.<p>

Giggling to herself as she slammed yet another shot glass down, she began to applaud girlishly. "Yay!" she chimed happily as she rocked side to side. "I win!"

Noah sighed, chuckling slightly himself. "Man… what can I say? You're good, good enough to beat me."

Quinn laughed heartily again, pushing away the drowsiness she was feeling. The clock had already well passed midnight. She had assumed it was rounding up to one in the morning now, although she could never be sure as her mind wasn't exactly in it's most reliable state.

"Hey, where are the others you said were coming? I thought it wasn't going to be just us." she inquired. Despite the fact they had been out for about two and a half hours now, this was only just dawning her. The bar they were sat in was jammed with people yet in their party, there was only two.

"Oh." Puck glanced from side to side awkwardly. It was not hard to tell that he was conjuring up some sort of excuse, that was, if you were sober. "Well… they couldn't make it. They sent me a text before. I hope that's okay… just me and you?"

In any other situation, Quinn probably would have been furious and demanded that he took her home immediately. Yet somehow, her intoxication had seemed to numb her angry reflexes. She didn't feel annoyed at the slightest; she was enjoying herself and that's all that mattered to her.

Still, something inside of her was flashing her a warning although she couldn't seem to grasp the meaning of it. Perhaps it was the alcohol or possibly the fact that this was the first time in about 3 years that she'd had a night out on the town that was preventing her from responding to it.

When Quinn had first restarted her relationship with Sam in college, they often went on night's out. That was the standard college lifestyle. It was actually one of the things that helped them patch their relationship up, as they both enjoyed seeing a different side of each other. Quinn had always been constantly uptight and cautious in high school. When Sam had seen her so laid back, he thought it was a miracle to begin with. Later on, he realised she'd changed for the better. He fell for her again.

Things had changed since then, though. Things always changed, especially in Quinn's life. Nothing was ever constant apart from the change and she had enough in her history books to know that. It was part of who she was - why she was such a feminist who enjoyed been independent and often broken and reluctant to trust and love.

She was not as easy-going these days. Work, money, home life; it had stressed her deeply, changing the way in which her mind functioned again. She loved Sam, she really did. She just found it difficult to have a good balance of work and fun in their life when they had so much else on their plate.

Yet here she was, with Noah Puckerman, having the most fun she'd had in a depressingly long period of time. Surely there couldn't be anything wrong with that, right? At least she told herself that._ I deserve this_, she reminded herself, reflecting back on all those times when she had chosen to be responsible over having a good time.

"We should go home soon…" she sighed unahppily. Her words had an air of responsibility yet her they were terribly slurred so it was difficult for anyone to take her seriously. Her intake of alcohol had also caused her to bat her eyes slowly when speaking, her reactions slower. You only had to take one singular glance at her to know that she'd been drinking. "Sam will be worried and I know he'll wait up for me anyway no matter what I tell him."

She began to push herself up from the bar stool but soon realised that this was going to be a problem once her feet found the floor. She stumbled and tripped multiple times just attempting to get her balance and it was Puck who rushed to her aid just before she was kissing the ground.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he chuckled, holding her up by her forearms and standing her straight. "You're way out of it. You can't walk, MILF."

"I'm fine!" she argued although she was quite aware that she was in no state to go anywhere unless he was to carry her. "I can do this…"

"No, you can't." Puck sighed and added another light-hearted chuckle on the end. He yanked her back to the bar stool and sat her down. She protested at first but soon gave in, realising he was much too strong for her to fight against, especially when she was like this. "Look, just stay for a little while longer. Have a few more drinks, don't be so uptight. Then you can get a cab ride back with me. Okay?"

Quinn would have protested but her logic was faulty and she could no longer distinguish the warning signals flaring red inside of her. In her mind, nothing seemed shady or sinister about that proposal. "Okay…" she sighed with a finality to her voice. After all, a drink or two more couldn't hurt, right? Not when it sounded so good.

"Awesome." Puck mused, raising his eyebrows multiple times before calling the bartender over.

Just after they'd ordered their next round, a blazing sound began to arise from the opposite side of the bar. Puck could handle his liquor, unlike Quinn, so he was the first to react. He glanced over and recognised the source of the sound.

"Hey!" he chimed with glee, "Karaoke! Doesn't that just bring back memories, MILF?" he stared at her expectantly with a childlike grin.

Soon enough, Quinn's own eyes began to flare with excitement after slowly recalling their days in the New Directions. "Yes! Glee… the New Directions. Damn, those were good times!"

"Hell yeah they were!" Noah yelled over the now ear-piercing volume of music. It didn't take them long to recognise the song, their joy growing more intense.

"Sweet Ca-ro-line… duh, duh, duh!" they sang through drunken voices though somehow in unity. Quinn giggled hysterically, watching Puck mimic the movement of his fingers across the strings of a guitar.

All of the previous conversation was forgotten and Quinn found herself dragged up to the stage with the Mohawked boy to sing a song she couldn't remember the name of. Nothing was wrong with the situation because she wanted it to be okay.

* * *

><p>Sam headed home not long after his short catch up with Rachel Berry. A few people had spoken to him half heartedly but Sam had soon realised that there was nothing much there for him. Plus, he wanted to be home when Quinn got back to see that she was safe.<p>

And so he stayed awake. He had protested against that idea at the reunion but both of them were aware of the way it worked - they always waited for each other, despite what they said before.

Yet the waiting seemed a lot longer than usual this time around. He arrived home at about midnight after stopping off at a 24-hour diner to grab a bite to eat. Buffets with small plates of food that you could barely nibble on were nice for a school reunion but they weren't enough to satisfy Sam's appetite.

Once arriving home, he did the usual. It was standard practise; he'd flick through endless TV channels, play the odd song or two on guitar, perhaps even work out a little. But he did all of those things for a fair amount of time and nothing seemed to happen. There was no sign of her.

When the clock hit about half 2, he started to worry. Usually, he didn't like to call her because he didn't want to seem like he was trying to control her. Yet in this situation - her out on the town with Noah Puckerman, that is - it seemed like perfect logic.

And so he grabbed the house phone. He dialled her number, which he knew off-by-heart, and waited for some kind of response. But he got none apart from a distant ringing noise sounding from the kitchen. He followed the sound until he found her cell phone on the kitchen counter. Frowning and sighing, he mentally chastised himself for not realising that she always forgot her phone.

The seconds seemed like minutes, minutes like hours and so on. Soon enough, the clock had struck four and he knew something was wrong. If he wasn't so vexed and concerned, he would have been tired. Yet how could he even consider sleep when his wife - his beautiful, vulnerable wife - was out on the streets, drunk and in danger. So he just rubbed his eyes, splashed some water on his face and forced the temptation of sleep away.

Once 5 o'clock came around, he was prepared to go out looking for her. He soon decided that he'd rather her come into an empty house than be out there for the night, so he grabbed his coat and keys and geared himself up for a search.

He approached the door and reached for the doorknob. As he did, he was nearly knocked out as it was flung open from the outside. Luckily, his quick reflexives allowed him to step back just in time but he was no less infuriated than he would've been if it had slapped him straight in the face.

Quinn sauntered in, tripping over her own feet as she did. Behind her stumbled Noah Puckerman, laughingly loudly and obnoxiously as he clung to her waist to support them both. Sam was so angry at what he saw that he struggled to find words for a long time.

As soon as they were through, he slammed the door shut furiously. "What time do you call this?" he screeched, feeling oddly like the uptight parent.

Both Puck and Quinn seemed to notice him for the first time. Quinn was the first to speak after slowly blinking multiple times. "Sam… I thought you weren't going to wait up."

"Nonsense." Sam scoffed, his face repelled at her drunken state. "You know that I always wait up no matter what, Quinn."

"How would I?" she argued, "We haven't been out a night in years."

"Oh don't give me all of that bull!" he rolled his eyes, "That's not a valid argument, Quinn. We're married; you know me well enough to know what to expect of me." There was a short pause whilst Quinn averted her gaze to the floor. "And you!" Sam laughed humourlessly, pointing the finger at Puck, "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you with her. You're just as bad."  
>"Hey!" Quinn yelled, her previously laid-back attitude now becoming argumentative and raging, "Don't treat me like a child, Sam! I can take care of myself perfectly well on my own. I don't need you or Puck or anyone to look after me."<p>

"Oh, please!" Sam laughed sarcastically, approaching her slowly, "Look at you, look at the state you're in; you're not fit to do anything! You can't tell up from down!"

Quinn's head fell to the floor. Her expression converted again, this time more hurt and offended. That insult had obviously hit home.

Puck soon jumped into the argument. "Hey! Chill out, man. Don't speak to her like that."

"Don't act like you have any rights here." Sam spat, getting right up in Puck's face. He was in no mood to be told what and what not to do when it came to his wife by the jerk that had got her pregnant and almost ruined her life.

"Sam, just-… leave him alone, please. Can we talk privately?" Quinn asked. It was probably the most reasonable thing she'd said all night; she still wasn't sure were that logic had came from. Perhaps it was the embarrassment or the fact that she was thankful to Noah for showing her a good time and she didn't want Sam to come down too heavily on him.

Sam agreed reluctantly, glaring angrily at Noah before following Quinn to the kitchen. He closed the door behind him and turned to face her, finding that she had her arms crossed gently over her chest. She averted her gaze, somewhat ashamed of the situation they had found themselves in.

"What the hell is this?" he forced the question upon her immediately, running over to her with a fury on his face that was impossible to ignore. "You go out with him, say you won't be late and you'll be careful; then you come in totally blitzed off your head from booze at five o'clock in the morning! Do you know I was just about to go out searching for you?"

Quinn seemed lost for words so she just continued to stare at her elbows, trying to find some inspiration or a voice. "We were having fun… I lost track of time…"

As soon as Sam distinguished her words where had been masked by slurring, he let out a heavy breath of disbelief, almost falling to his knees. "You've got to be joking." he murmured through clenched teeth with a threatening tone.

"I don't know what to say, Sam! You're scaring me…"

"I'm scaring you?" he screeched, no longer caring to maintain the level of his voice quietly as he had before. "You scared me, Quinn. You have no idea how worried I was. You're fucking insane!"

"Hey, watch your mouth!" she argued back for the first time, "I'm your wife, not your daughter. Start treating me with some respect."

"Oh, I'll treat you with respect," Sam scoffed, "as soon as you learn to handle your liquor! You have no idea how incredibly stupid you're being right now." The way he spat the words out with such venom in his voice expressed his intense fury and also yanked up a gut-wrenching pain in the pit of Quinn's stomach.

"Why are you being so mean…?" she whispered quietly as his face got closer and closer to hers. Not once in her life had she seen him act this way around her. Tears began to brim in her eyes but she hadn't allowed them to fall yet. She wouldn't as long as he didn't push her too far; he was hurting her feelings. "Don't you trust me?"

"How can I trust you when you do this?" he lashed out at her, grabbing her cell phone from beside them on the kitchen counter and launching it at the wall. The sound of the impact it made and then smashing into millions of pieces frightened Quinn, causing her to quiver and jump, stumbling back a few steps. A single tear drooled down her face.

"Hey!" Puck called from the door. Sam glared around swiftly to find the Mohawked boy standing with a defence stance. "I think you need to leave."

"You can't tell me what to do in my house!" Sam laughed, as if anything could have been funny.

"Then why don't you let Quinn do the talking for once, huh? It's her house too."

Sam scoffed. He then realised that Noah was serious. With a surprised grin, he turned to face his blonde wife who was cowering in the corner with fear. Both men watched her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Just go…" Quinn finally whispered as she shivered. Her voice was barely audible, only carried by the slight breeze which floated in from the open window.

Sam almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. His earlier cocky grin faded to something of shock and confusion. "What…?" he murmured, his voice almost as quiet as hers.

"You heard the lady." Puck spoke up again, strolling towards Quinn protectively. She looked at neither of them, though. She was too occupied, trying to hide the tears which were now freely flowing down her face. "You need to leave."

Just as he was about to argue, something inside of Sam awoke him. She doesn't want you here, he informed himself. He had parted his lips but instead of speaking, he closed them. If she didn't want him here, why should he stay? He didn't want to be here, didn't want to see her like this. He didn't want to see her at all.

"Fine." he spat, the corner of his mouth twitching with rage. "I'll go; but don't expect me back any time soon."

The last thing he heard was Quinn's whimper as he whipped around on his heels and headed to the bedroom to pack his bags.

* * *

><p>It was always colder this early in the morning, Sam established. As he wandered through the streets of Lima, the chilly breeze nipped at any vulnerable piece of skin he had. The difficulty of this situation increased with the heavy suitcase he lugged around.<p>

In all honesty, he hadn't really been thinking straight when he had flung all those bits and pieces together. He just knew that he needed to get out of that God damned house. Because if she didn't want him to be there, then why should he stay? It's not like he needed her. Not now, anyway. Not in that state.

He hadn't even thought of where he would go. He left the car because his keys were in the kitchen where Quinn had remained to sob uncontrollably, a terrible fit of tears overtaking her like some kind of spirit had creeped through her soul. He didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to look at Noah either.

The idea had soon hit him as soon as he'd left the house. He knew where he needed to go and he knew he'd be welcome because of his situation, despite the time. The circumstances may not have been as bad this time around but at least this person understood what it was like to feel Quinn pulling away from you, to know that she hadn't wanted you.

He knocked upon the door, aware that this was where his friend in his time of need would be. It was quarter to six in the morning. He wouldn't mind waking up just a little early.

After what seemed like a wait of one hundred years, a tired Finn opened the door whilst rubbing his eyes to find Sam shivering and crying silently.

"Sam…" he spoke, his eyes lingering up and down his former friend's body. He recognised the suitcase and soon established the situation. He may have been slightly out of it sometimes but he knew this feeling when he saw it. "Come in." he invited him inside solemnly, stepping aside and allowing the blonde through.

It wasn't long until Sam had fallen into a fit of tears similar to Quinn's, only this time he was curled up on Finn Hudson's sofa.

**I know I left it lingering a little at the end but hopefully my updates will speed up… again, sorry about that. I'm also going to update my other Sam and Quinn fic soon so you can read that while I'm writing the next chapter :3 Also, I'm going to start asking that we reach a certain number of reviews before I update. Do you think you guys can possibly reach around 90? I know it's a lot to ask but just tell me what you like, what you didn't like… it's not a firm number so you're welcome to go above ;) I'm pretty easy-going! Thank you for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**WOW!** **You guys definitely wanted this chapter haha. I had an explosion of reviews, so thank you very much for that. Honestly, you guys don't know how much I appreciate you reading and reviewing. You're too awesome! I haven't had time to proof-read this chapter I'm afraid since I've not had a lot of time on my plate at all actually. There's bound to be multiple mistakes! I hope you can survive them though xD**

The morning was slowly but surely creeping in the Hudson household. Sneaky beams of light were beginning to fiddle their way through the shutters and three quarters of an hour had already passed since Sam arrived. And also since Sam arrived, he had not moved - not once. He remained on the sofa; moping, groaning, occasionally sobbing.

It took some time but Finn finally managed to coax Sam into explaining to him fully why he was hear. It hadn't been hard to guess the obvious yet to get the actual facts had been difficult as Sam was just so utterly distraught. He just continued to stare at the ceiling, laying flat on his back as if he was desperately hoping to get something, anything out of it.

"I'm sorry, man…" Finn mumbled. It wasn't that he was unsure of what to say necessarily - he'd been in the same situation and he was aware that if it were him, he wouldn't have wanted anyone to say anything to him at all - but he wanted to say _something._ He wanted to let Sam know that he understood.

"Don't be…" Sam murmured, the usual chirpiness and happy-go-lucky tone to his voice no longer present. "I shouldn't have let her go. Why did I let her go?" he asked the question more to himself than anyone. _Why_ had he let her go? The thought of the situation just screamed danger. He felt like slamming his head against the wall, just so that the impact would hurt and something would seem real.

"Hey, don't blame yourself." Finn abruptly dropped his caring, considerate friend façade and immediately turned offensively on Sam. "_Do not_ think like that - this is not your fault. It's her's."

"What's wrong with me…?" Sam whispered, his breaths ragged and fatigued from crying. He was supposed to be a big boy. Why was he crying?

"_Nothing_ is wrong with you, Sam!" Finn suddenly stood and walked over to where his friend was limply flung across the couch. He grabbed the blonde's arm and hoisted him up so that he was sitting straight. Sam remained nonplussed throughout the incident. "I know you feel alone and you want to isolate yourself right now but you _can't_. You have to know that I understand, Sam. We may not be the best of friends but I'm going to help you and you'll come out stronger. You hear me?"

In all honesty, Sam hadn't heard the majority of it; he'd been too busy drowning in his oceans of nightmares, the ones causing his head to reel and an unimaginable pain to occur in the pit of his stomach. Surely his marriage couldn't go down in flames because of one, petty argument, right? He sure as hell hoped so.

Still, he nodded absentmindedly, blinking slowly and tiredly as Finn began to instruct him on methods to pull himself back together again. He felt incapable of most of them.

"Did you see Rachel tonight?" he asked when Finn paused in a rare moment.

Finn kept his lips parted, watching the blonde cautiously as he considered his answer. "Well…" he murmured unsurely, averting his gaze. At first, this had just been Sam's way of distracting Finn as well as himself - he didn't want to talk about Quinn. But now, he was rather interested. He'd thought about it briefly before as Finn had remained at the reunion later than him.

"Did you talk to her?"

"I-… wait, are you trying to distract me?" Finn asked, his eyebrow quirking upwards and a familiar confused expression lingering on his face.

"No, of course not." Sam scoffed, shaking his head as if it was the most ridiculous observation ever made. The fact of the matter was that it was one hundred percent true yet Sam knew how simple his buddy could be. It wasn't difficult to push one past him.

"Oh." Finn's mouth curved the shape as he pronounced the word. "Well, actually… I did see her. She was looking at me this one time, like she wanted to come over and say something. But every time Jesse noticed us he'd start to be all flirty with her. Like, whispering sweet everythings in her ear and all that romantic stuff…"

"I think the term is sweet nothings, Finn."

"God, I'm such an idiot." the taller boy groaned, completely ignore Sam's remark. He fell on the sofa opposite to Sam's, bury his head in his head. "How could I have let her slip right through my fingers?" he murmured, his voice now muffled by his hands. It seemed to Sam that this was the first time of the night that he was conveying emotion. Previously, it was just Finn trying to somehow console him. Now, Sam recognised this situation as his turn to play counsellor.

"Don't beat yourself up, man…" he sighed, standing for the first time since arriving and strolling over to his friend. He lay a friendly hand on the taller man's back, sitting beside him and watching the air in front of him carefully.

"Says the guy who was just kicking himself in the guts for nothing…"

Sam chuckled lightly which was follow by a sniffle. For the first time, he felt as if the tears weren't going to come anymore. The pain was just a little less than before. Still there, of course, but just not as severe. "I know. But maybe I should have listened to you…"

Finn sighed with finality, taking his head out of his hands and falling back against the sofa tiredly. "I guess both of us need some sleep. You're welcome to stay as long as you want, okay? There's a spare room left over from when Kurt moved out a few years ago, just go up the stairs and it's the first door on your right."

Sam nodded, offering Finn and thankful glance. "Thanks, man. I really appreciate. I promise it won't be too long… it never is…"

He heard no response because Finn had already stumbled out of the room, half asleep and with a heavier heart than before.

* * *

><p>Quinn awoke the next morning by the sound of her alarm bleeping obnoxiously. It was screaming 'wake up!' but she couldn't seem to comprehend.<p>

"Ugh…" she groaned after about five minutes of attempting to ignore it. She had proven the task impossible and therefore resorted to shutting it off. Incapable of finding the snooze button, she turned it off completely. "What time is it…?" she murmured to herself, wiping some of the slobber that had drizzled from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes nearly burst out of her sockets when she saw the time in aluminous red lighting - it had just gone half past eight and she was expected at work for nine.

"Shit, shit, shit…" she mumbled to herself as she jumped out of bed. She found it difficult to do so though, as the throbbing pain that was occurring over her entire body seemed to numb her completely. It was agonising, the worst thing she'd ever felt.

"What happened last night…?" she asked rhetorically, glancing in various corners of the room for some kind of answer. The first thing she picked up on was the fact that she'd slept alone. "Sam?" she called. Usually, he drove her to work in the morning. They'd sold her car and kept his in order to benefit their financial status. "Sam?"

After deciding that he was probably in the bathroom or something, she began to dress hastily. She found a pair of slacks and a floral blouse in the closet and then accessorised with a blazer. With a sigh, she made her way to the bathroom.

Yet Sam wasn't there. She grunted in displeasure and annoyance. He never seemed to be around when she needed him. It took her a moment or two longer to get down the stairs as her head was still throbbing. Each simple she made seemed to be agony.

She then suddenly recalled that she had been how drinking last night. _What on earth inspired you to take that smart move, Quinn?_ she asked herself, rhetorically and sarcastically. Grunting, she made her way to the kitchen; she needed some kind of medication to numb this unbearable thumping pain.

She found the kitchen oddly vacant. There was no sign of Sam or his regular regime. Usually by this time he would be preparing himself some sort of breakfast for heroes to help maintain his impeccable body. Yet the kitchen wasn't in it's usually orderly chaos - it was just chaos.

She notice flung items, even a broken cell phone that looked to have been thrown against the wall in some fit on anger. She felt her chest tighten with worry.

"Sam…?" she called one last time hopelessly. There was no answer, as she had expected. Her insides quivering, she glanced over to the kitchen counter where she realised a glass with two aspirin tablets beside it. She also noticed a piece of paper which seemed to have been written on.

Cautiously, she began to approach the strange gesture. She was rather certain she hadn't got it out. It was far too early for Puck to be about. She saw it up close for the first time and immediately distinguished Sam's shaky handwriting. The note seemed as if it had been written during some kind of rage as the paper was crumpled and the words scribbled quickly and almost unreadable.

'_Quinn,_

_I knew you'd need this when you woke up. Don't bother calling. I'm staying out of that house for a while until you sort your head out.'_

_- Sam.'_

She felt her heart drop into her stomach. Her entire body froze up, becoming ridged the moment she read this name. Her mouth curved the shape but she could make no sound.

_I'm staying out of that house._

He couldn't be serious, could he? She tried to convince herself but she wasn't so sure.

Images and memories from the previous night came over her in an ocean, each moment worrying her even more deeply. She couldn't exactly recall everything well enough to recite it carefully and correctly - she had been extremely drunk after all - but she knew enough to realise that she was in a terrible position.

After a few shaky breaths, she set the note down. Her fingers were quivering as she filled the glass with water and downed it with the two aspirin tablets. She almost choked as she felt the pebble-like shapes slither down her throat. Perhaps it was the realistic feel to it. Sam being gone, that didn't seem real. She kept praying that this was some kind of nightmare that she was soon to wake up from.

She paced the kitchen multiple times, unable to comprehend why and how she had managed to act the way she had. She tried desperately to some how conjure up a theory in which she could go back in time and tell Puck _no_, she didn't want to go out. Because if she'd have been strong like she always said she was, then perhaps she wouldn't be in this mess.

All she knew was that Sam was gone and that was enough for her to break down. Still, she pushed it aside as she was conscious of the ticking clock. She would give it more thought once she had a clear head.

So she set off for work, laughing at herself, telling herself that Sam would be home by the time she got back. Because surely, this must have been a practical joke of Puck's that she was giggle about later. She wanted it to be. Her heart was yearning for it to be.

But she didn't think so. Not really.

* * *

><p>By the time the clock hit twelve and it was time for her lunch break, Quinn was utterly fatigued. She felt like everyone was screeching at her. Her eyes were in agonising pain from the light peaking through the glass windows of the estate agents'. She wanted to go home and crawl into bed to find Sam beside her. He would then wrap his arms around her stomach and kiss her behind her ears, whispering sweet nothings and telling her that everything would be okay again when she woke up.<p>

She knew she couldn't do that though. She had tried not to think about it, but she had. She had been pondering over the note that Sam had left constantly throughout the entire day. She tried to come up with a positive to it. She found none.

Still, she wasn't sure what he meant when he said 'for a while'. She told herself that he meant an hour or so. Perhaps he was taking a stroll or staying with his parents for the night. He'd been back soon and she'd have nothing to fret about. That didn't stop her constant internal pain though.

The best part of her day was knowing that she could go home and tend to him. She wanted to be the wife who cooked and cleaned for her husband, her husband that appreciated every element of her soul and being. Yet with him walking out, did that mean he didn't appreciate her? Or maybe it meant she hadn't appreciated him. She felt like screaming.

Just as she was preparing to depart from her desk, a shadow fell over her paperwork. Quirking an eyebrow, she glanced upwards to find her daughter, Beth, staring at her expectantly with a huge grin.

"Mom." she chuckled slightly. To begin with, Beth had been unsure of whether to use the phrase or not but now both of them were growing more comfortable with it. It had been a week or so since their last meeting but every time that they had been together, both of them had enjoyed each others company.

"Beth…" Quinn tried to seem somewhat happy. She barely knew her daughter but she loved her all the same, yet with circumstances like so occurring, she was finding it difficult within herself to act chirpy and upbeat.

Fortunately, Beth failed to pick up on this and continued to grin on through. "I know this is a bit unexpected but I figured it was your lunch break now. Maybe we could go somewhere?"

Quinn's lips parted slightly as she tried to conjure up what she wanted to say. Did she really feel like going out? No. Did she even feel like eating at all? Definitely not. But did she want to disappoint her daughter? Of course she didn't.

Beth was too quick though and realised Quinn's hesitation. "Oh… I'm sorry. I mean, if you don't want to, I guess that's fine. Maybe another time. I can call you or something and we could-"

"No, no. Beth, stop okay?" Quinn forced a smile, holding her palms up to halt her daughter's mindless rambling. "I've just got a lot of on my mind this morning but I'd love to go out with you."

"Oh." Beth giggled quietly. "Well… maybe you could tell me about it over lunch?" she suggested, her grin growing wider.

Somehow, Quinn managed to summon up a genuine smile. She fluttered her eyelids once or twice and then nodded. "Yeah… I'd like that a lot."

* * *

><p>"So… he just left you a note? That was it?"<p>

Quinn nodded whilst staring vacantly at her plate. She'd picked and played with her salad but nothing more than that. How could she eat with such troubles?

"Wow." Beth muttered, her voice aghast and disbelieving. "I am so sorry, mom."

Shrugging, Quinn's gaze finally flickered towards her daughter. They looked so alike it was uncanny. "It's okay… I just feel so ill and stupid…"

"Have you tried calling him yet?" Beth tried, a supportive smile flattering her face.

Quinn could feel her throat tightening. She'd done nothing; she was too afraid. She didn't want to upset him more than she already had and just thinking about it made her want to cry. But she wasn't going to, not in public. Crying was supposed to saved for when you were locked away in your room with no one to see.

"No." she finally managed to choke, shaking her head from side to side slowly. "I think he'll be back by the time I get home, though." she sighed, actually rather confident in her presumptions.

Beth nodded, smiling politely again. "I'm sure he will. You guys are so close from what I've seen. You'll work through this."

Quinn smiled gently in the direction of her daughter. All she could seem to think was 'why hadn't I been this wise at her age?' Clearly it was not a gene her nor Puck enjoyed.

* * *

><p>Quinn sighed upon arriving home. She set her keys on the kitchen table and walked nervously throughout the house. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach; one that told her she wasn't alone.<p>

"Sam?" she called as she wandered through the living room. "Sam?" again in the dining room, no answer. Trudging upstairs, she found the house completely empty.

Her whole body quivering with disappointment, she retreated to the bedroom. Collapsing on the bed, she closed her eyes and reflected. What had become of this marriage? Why had it all suddenly gone wrong? She was exhausted just thinking about it.

"Sam…" she whimpered, feeling the tears beginning to brim in her eyes. Now she was all alone. And she could cry.

Her tears were halted, though at the sound of an annoyingly familiar voice.

"Nope, just me."

Quinn shot up immediately from her lazed position and set eyes on Puck. "You!" she exclaimed furiously, pointing her finger in his direction. "What the hell is going on? Where's Sam?"

Puck shrugged, completely nonplussed and uncaring. "I don't know… probably gone to drown his sorrows in beer. That's what I'd usually do. Hey, speaking of beer-"

"No." Quinn spat immediately, snarling as she began to realise the harm he had done. "You stay away from me now. You keep your beer to yourself."

Puck held his palms up defensively. "Hey, I was just offering you a good time, MILF. You seemed to enjoy the liquor very much last night, so I figured you'd appreciate it. Geesh, chicks these days…"

"No! Don't you 'chick' me. And _stop_ calling me 'MILF'. Okay?" she arose from the bed, sauntering towards him angrily. "This is _your_ fault. _You're _the reason Sam is gone."

Puck scoffed as if it were the most ridiculous judgement he'd ever heard. "Oh, pal-ese. I saved your ass! You should have seen him, he was _livid._ And besides, you're the one who told him to go."

"What…?" Quinn breathed, her voice much quieter this time.

"Yeah. He was all angry and shit, throwing cell phones at walls and that kind of stuff. I told him he needed to calm down. Then he said he'd do whatever he liked in his house. I asked if you wanted him gone and you kicked him straight in the balls."

Quinn swallowed heavily, devouring Puck's words. "I wouldn't say that…" she tried to laugh it off as if she were certain it were untrue, tried to find some kind of proof from her vague remembrance. Yet nothing was valid, nothing was legit.

"Believe whatever you want," Puck shrugged, "but I saw what went on. You were hilarious on karaoke last night, by the way."

Snarling again, Quinn shook her head in disgust. "You're lucky I haven't kicked you out yet." she spat furiously before slamming the door in his face and locking it defiantly. "Stay out of my way until Sam comes back!" she screeched, the height of her own voice terrifying herself.

Then, she lumbered over to the bed and toppled onto the sheets, falling into a deep, long period of unstoppable tears. Her stomach was aching. She felt like puking.

And she did. Numerous times, actually. It was a good thing they had that en-suite.

**I'm so sorry to end it on such a depressing note! This story will be ending in a few chapters though, I'm afraid to say. I've enjoyed it a lot! Anyway, if we could reach about 110 reviews I'll try and update ASAP? I know it's a lot to ask again but you guys really surprised last time, so here's hoping! Thank you so much for reading :3**


	12. Chapter 12

**So, so, so sorry about the slow update! I'm an awful person, you can tell me this and I won't deny it.**

"Hello, Mr. Richardson? It's Quinn Evans, Samuel Evans's… wife." Quinn murmured quietly down the line, hoping that she didn't sound too confused about her current situation with her husband. It had been about five days now, this being one of the only times she had evacuated her room, even though she planned to return after a brief use of the phone. "I was just wondering…" she sighed, twisting the cord between her index finger, "is Sam at work today? He… stayed over at his parents house the other night. I think he was feeling a little unwell, I just want to know if he was healthy enough to come into work today."

That was a lie. Quinn had done nothing but come up with possible scenarios in her head of where Sam could be and why. As much as she knew him inside and out, what had happened between them was so unpredictable, therefore making any of her guessing useless in return. The only solid foundation she had to go by was his workplace she had woken up that morning, deciding she wanted to get to the bottom of this.

After plucking up the courage to finally text him, she had received no response. So she tried again. And again, and again, and again. If she recalled correctly, her last message had been 'I just miss you… come home…'. She was really that desperate.

The house didn't seem to function properly without him, therefore making her feel uncomfortable in her own home. Prior to the days when Noah had shown up, it had just been the two of them - her and Sam. They had certain regimes and traditions which she had grown too comfortable with to dismiss so easily. Now, every time she walked into the bathroom between the hours of eight and nine, she was disappointed to find there was no blonde man in her shower, deep conditioning his hair with great care.

"Hello, Mrs. Evans. No, I'm afraid Sam has been absent from work over the past few days." he answered in a displeased tone, causing Quinn's heart to fall sadly. She was no longer as engrossed in this conversation than before. "But if you do happen to contact him, is it possible that you could inform him that he does not have the holiday's left and he is pushing his luck presently." Mr. Richardson spoke sternly, flaring a warning signal to Quinn.

"Yes, of course I can, Mr. Richardson." she answered dryly. She had been ready to hang up the moment she'd heard the word 'no'. "I'll tell him. Thanks for your time." She put the phone down before she could hear the response.

His words had done nothing but set in the cold reality of her situation - she was not contacting her husband any time soon. She allowed herself to fall limp against the wall, her head still aching from a hangover that should have passed a long time ago. She stood like that for a good few minutes, allowing her head to clear. After finally deciding she was ready to go back to bed and cry a little more, a familiar Mohawk stepped in her way.

"And so she appears. That's a start."

"Go _away_, Puck." she commanded him harshly. There was a warning in his words that he hoped he would grasp - he was pushing his boundaries if he decided not to leave her alone. She pushed past him forcefully, making her way down the rest of the corridor and towards the staircase.

"Hey, I was just checking that you were okay, MILF. No big deal. I'm sorry that you find my consideration for you offensive."

Scoffing, Quinn halted in her tracks and pivoted around to face Puck. "Oh please, Puck. If you're 'consideration' was so deep, Sam would still be here right now. So, if you would then I'd like to be left to rot in peace, thanks."

"You know, in my opinion," Quinn groaned, bracing herself for some 'Puckzilla logic', "I think you're being _way_ too harsh on yourself." She quirked an eyebrow, ready to explain, in detail, the fact that her husband was absent from her life as she would too a toddler but he cut her attempts short. "No, wait, just hear me out." he held up his palms defensively, "Of course, Sam's gone and that sucks for you. But… what if there were things you couldn't do while he was here that you can do now? Like, get crazy and dance in your underwear with a bottle of beer, like you see in those movies." there was a brief pause before he hastily added, "Just until he comes back."

Quinn's jaw was open as she watched him in disbelief. The worst part was that you could tell by his face that he was serious. Laughing humourlessly, she began to approach him, sizing herself up to him in order to somehow intimidate him. "Let's get one thing straight, okay?" she began in a patronising voice, "Sam is gone. And the _reason_ Sam is gone is because of your little 'idea'. So the answer to that is an indefinite no. Secondly, now that Sam is gone I have _nothing_ here. Noth-ing. Okay?" he pronounced the words slowly, making each syllable as clear as day whilst Puck watched like a child who was being scolded. "And I most definitely do not want to be reminded of that by 'getting crazy'. I don't want to have fun, Puck. So why can't you just leave me alone? I am so on the brink of kicking you out."

For the first time over the past few days, Puck actually seemed serious as he spoke his next words. His voice was sincere and apologetic yet somehow Quinn didn't feel that she was too harsh. He was certainly pushing her over the edge and deserved whatever was coming to him.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he swallowed, shoving his hands into his pockets and glaring at the floor, "I just… I'll get out of your hair for a while, okay? I'll go out and stay in a motel somewhere and let you have some alone time." he proposed. "I know I might not act like it but I'm really thankful and stuff that you've let me stay with you but I haven't done much to repay you."

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Quinn folded her arms over her chest as she tried to remain straight-faced. "Would you?" she asked quietly.

"Yes." Puck answered sincerely, bowing his head. "If that's what you want, I'll go. But can I… come back? Later on, I mean. I-I still don't have that much going for me."

Quinn chewed on it for a moment or two, contemplating what to say. She did want him gone - very much so, at that - but now she was actually beginning to feel bad. Still, whilst sober she wasn't going to ignore any potential threats. She would allow him to come back if only he left her alone for a decent amount of time.

"Okay." she finally answered in a whisper. "Two or three days should be long enough for me to get myself together." She said this not only being she didn't want to feel too alone in this house but because she was also hoping Sam would be back by then. During all their other arguments, it hadn't taken him long to return to where she thought he belonged - beside her. It was a long-shot but she was putting her money on it.

Puck nodded again, his eyes closed as he let out a sigh. Clearly, he had wanted her to say the opposite but he was going to stick to his word.

Quinn swallowed again as Puck passed her, his hands remaining in his pockets and gaze to the floor. He collected his things and left as quick as possible. As soon as he was gone, Quinn took a shower in which she used Sam's shampoo and various other hair products. She then retreated to the bedroom. She opened all of the drawers where he kept his things and loaded some of his leftover clothes onto the bed. Then, she sprayed the room with the aftershave he'd forgotten, lay herself down and closed her eyes, pretending he was there with silent tears drifting down her face.

It was desperate and needy but it was the closet she had to the real thing.

* * *

><p>'I called your boss. He told me to warn you that you should be in work… I miss you. Please come home.'<p>

Sam groaned as he read what seemed to be the millionth text message from his wife. He wanted to go back to her but something inside of him was telling him not to, at least not yet anyway. It was his logic, he supposed, warning him that if he went back now, the fire may not have died down completely. He wished to give it just a little more time before he returned. And in addition to that, there was the fact that he was still furious, no matter how many loving messages she forwarded to him.

Over the past few days, he'd been taking it easy with Finn. His overly tall friend usually worked for the majority of the day so he spent a lot of time alone. Most of that time consisted of sitting and reflecting, perhaps watching TV or helping Finn out by going to the supermarket. When they were together they'd do things such as watch TV, have dinner and talk as if they were just college roommates.

Yet despite the number of talks they had, Quinn nor Rachel didn't come up once. Finn had been quick to identify that the point of Sam residing with him was to clear his head before he returned to his wife. Sam had done the same, never daring to bring up the brunette diva in casual conversation again. He supposed Finn had become so much wiser since their high school days. Sam no longer held that small grudge over the way Finn had managed to steal Quinn from him. They were at a truce.

"Who keeps texting you?" Finn asked over their TV dinners whilst they watched American Idol in silence. "Every time you pick up the phone it looks like you're going to throw a fit of rage or something."

Sam bit the inside of his mouth as he pretending to watch the TV, it's light blazing in the dark. Finn didn't often switch his lights on in order to save electricity bills from shooting up.

"Oh, it's just… uhm…" he stammered, unable to think of something reasonable to excuse himself from talking about Quinn. "Work. They wanted to know if I'll be in tomorrow." _Not a total lie,_ he told himself to ease his conscious. The text had referred to work.

"Oh." Finn replied before they drifted off into another uncomfortable silence, the only sounds to be heard the scraping of their cutlery and the voices of momentarily famous wannabes.

"Well, maybe you should think about going back to work." Finn spoke up again despite the fact that Sam had deemed the conversation over and done with. "It could be a good thing. Then you wouldn't be alone as much."

Sam was beginning to feel like a child the way Finn suggested he do certain activities in order to decrease his alone time. Despite this, he continued the conversation as he normally would. "Yeah, maybe I will…" he replied though genuinely meaning his words. Perhaps if he did find a way to occupy more time, he wouldn't spend so much of it considering when to go back and sort this horrific mess.

"Might make you come to a decision more quickly too…" Finn murmured as he kept his gaze locked to the TV. He was playing with his food rather than eating it.

Sam's ears perked up at the words. "What do you mean?" he asked with a mouth full of food.

"You know…" Finn tried to explain without actually saying her name. He used his hand to make odd gestures but Sam only continued to stare at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. Sighing disappointedly, Finn finally said it. "With Quinn."

Stopping chewing almost instantly, Sam involuntarily shot him the most ultimate of death glares. He had grown so prone to not having to talk about it with Finn over the last few days that by now just the simple mention of her name her name had taken him by surprise. "How would it…?" he asked after a brief pause to swallow his food.

"Well…" Finn mused, seemingly trying to make some work of art with his fork in order to avoid eye contact. "I don't know, it might make you feel a little more normal… get back into your old routine and see if you, uh… you know, miss her."

Despite the awkward way in which Finn pronounced his words, they did make perfect sense. Sam allowed himself some time to devour what his friend was saying before setting his fork down on the table.

"You know what," he spoke confidently for the first time since they'd began the topic, "I'm going to go into work tomorrow."

Finn smirked triumphantly, as if he had accomplished something. "That's awesome, dude." he nodded approvingly before the conversation simmered down and they continued to watch the television in silence.

* * *

><p>Puck had been gone only three hours and already Quinn was finding herself in a state of misunderstanding. The biggest question she asked herself was: <em>how did it come to this?<em> She'd only wanted a bit of fun and now she was without husband, or without any company whatsoever.

Saline droplets strolled down her cheeks as she collapsed over the lid of the toilet, her mouth gaping open as she prepared for the gross substance in the back of her throat to emerge through the gap. Eventually it did, twisting her stomach as she coughed and spluttered her body's denial of what looked like breakfast.

She gave one final choke before she was certain it was over. Her body was so fatigued from the amount of puking that she simply couldn't find it in herself to move. She just lay there, her legs twisted in an odd position and arms flung uncomfortably over the lid of the toilet. She panted heavily, trying to regain her energy.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, hoping that somehow something could teleport her back to bed where she could cry, meaning that should wouldn't have to move.

Although it came out of nowhere, she somehow managed to push herself away from the revolting stench of vomit and fall back against the bathroom wall. This was the perfect time to reflect upon the past five days.

Mainly, she thought of Sam - how much she missed him, when he would come back - but she also thought of other things too. It was strange since he was usually the only occupant of her thoughts. It was as if she was finally opening her eyes to the happenings that had been occurring around her since his departure.

It took her a moment to realise the state she was in. She let out a humourless laugh. "I'm a mess…" she whispered, shaking her head as the tears continued to roll. She had been completely unproductive since Sam had gone. After that first day, she had called in sick to work. She found that she had enough money to survive but she would have to return soon. She had to get herself out of this bottomless rut.

Then, she began to think of how she had coped, or rather, not coped. She spent most of the time locked away in her room, searching for a way in which she could be with him without _actually_ being with him. She'd found the most successful of those theories to be the one where she just smelt everything he left, savouring the sweet fragrance in her nostrils like it was the key to everlasting life.

And of course there was the puking. _Ugh, puking,_ she thought to herself, grimacing she glanced upon the toilet. It wasn't a pleasant thought. She tried to count how many times she had vomited over these past few days but she found herself lost for numbers. It had been at least once every day apart from one, she concluded. Somehow, this was only just beginning to seem suspicious.

It felt as if a bomb had dropped in her stomach once she recalled something from the days where Sam had been present; her and Sam had enjoyed _unprotected sex. _It seemed like a lifetime ago but it had only been something of a week or so, if even that. She immediately began to fret.

Limbs shaking, she pushed herself up from the ground and used the wall to support her. The cool tiles reminded her that this was real life, not a nightmare. This was happening and whatever came of it was not going to go away when she woke up.

She trembled as she hastily began to make her way into the bedroom, wiping hr mouth with tissue as she went. Her tears had now slowed as her reaction to this new theory had now put her into shock. She was on deadlock, now she only needed a decider.

"I could be pregnant…" she whispered, just to make sure that the words were real. She could hear them, hence the small, petrified shriek she released.

She reached for the bottom draw, pulling it open quickly before grasping the three pregnancy tests she had bought not long ago. She then headed back into the bathroom to find out her fate.

**REVIEWS, REVIEWS, REVIEWS! I'm a girl obsessed with feedback…**


	13. Chapter 13

**Another slow update… apologies. This chapter is kind of long so I hope you can forgive me.**

Quinn continued to look at her reflection. She simply couldn't stop. In her own head, she knew that she was hoping; hoping that if she gazed at the unrecognisable face in the mirror for long enough, all of these mistakes would just vanish. Yet unfortunately for her, life wasn't that simple. Because life was never simple for Quinn Fabray, was it? No, of course not.

She remembered the feeling in the pit of her stomach the moment she'd picked up the first test - positive. _It's okay,_ she'd told herself, _sometimes they can be wrong, that's why I have three._ It was just a scare. Or at least, she tried to make herself believe that.

The feeling worsened when she glanced upon the results of the second test - also positive. She held it for a little longer than necessary, her fingers quivering as she put it down and her breaths becoming increasingly shaky. _It's okay,_ she reminded herself again, _keep your head clear, Quinn._ Maybe if she kept her head clear, everything else would be clear too.

The third test was no different from the others. She stared at it for what seemed centuries, hoping that the little plus sign would somehow twist and convert into a minus. In high school, Sam had always gone on about how it would be so 'awesome' to have laser-eye-vision, like one of those superheroes in his science fiction movies. Perhaps normal people could do that too, if she tried enough. Sadly, it did no such thing.

To be sure, Quinn had ran around to the supermarket and picked up two more tests. _You can never be too sure,_ she had told herself although deep down, she knew the truth. They both came out positive too. No change there.

Now, looking in the mirror, everything seemed so hollow and empty. It felt as if the world around her should have stopped spinning, everyone should have halted and sympathised with her. Yet, it went on. And her mind was struggling to grasp that concept. Suddenly, her stomach began to feel heavier, as if there was already a full-grown foetus in there. She touched it unsurely, turning to one side and examining it. There was no existent bump of course, but in her mind, there was. Through her eyes, she could see it and it was huge. Like a burden.

She kept saying the exact same thing to herself over and over again, like a mantra - _it's funny how things change._

A month or two ago, Quinn would have been thrilled at a pregnancy. Because Sam would have been there. In her fantasy world, she pictured what his reaction would have been; probably something along the lines of him picking her up and spinning her in air whilst she giggled uncontrollably. He would then place his ear and listen for something, grinning from ear to ear as he felt closer to his child. 'But it's so small!' she would chuckle, to which he would reply 'But I know it's in there… and it's mine. It's _ours._' Something like that.

Yet now here she was, looking at herself and trying to erase everything, pretend that it all never happened. Because every day since he left, every day that passed without a healthy pulse, she kept getting this deafening feeling that he wasn't coming back any time soon. She wished she wasn't alone so much. That way, she wouldn't have been forced to listen to it. Now her hopes were pretty much non-existent.

Allowing the first few tears to fall from her eyes, she released a strangled moan. Her throat was so tight she could barely feel the sound escape.

_It's okay,_ she attempted to assure herself, _women have unwanted pregnancies all of the time. I'll fix this. I'll fix this with him and we can be a happy family, all three of us._

She half-heartedly dragged herself back to the bedroom. Collapsing onto the soft linen of her_ and Sam's_ bed, her tears intensified. "It's not okay…" she croaked, admitting for the first time that something was terribly wrong.

* * *

><p>As Sam had promised, he attended work the following day. He had been met with smiles and warm greetings from his colleagues. Politely, he had returned them even if he didn't particularly feel like smiling to begin with. He felt as if he should feel able to return to his wife afterwards, kiss her on the cheek and ask her what would be for dinner. Yet somehow, he didn't feel capable of doing that. Not today, not presently.<p>

Still, as the day progressed, her began to feel more comfortable when returned to his normal surroundings, his natural habitat... Finn had been right. It did feel… normal. More normal than he possibly thought it could have felt and that pleased him immensely. He felt accomplished, almost relieved. It was a healthy sense of reality flooding back to him after all of this confusion and misplacement.

By the time the clock was nearing three PM, he'd been doing a lot of careful thinking. He'd been sitting at his desk, procrastinating proof-reading an article when his eyes had lingered upon a photo. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it earlier.

The photograph was nothing special apart from the fact that it was of him and Quinn not long after they'd married. It was rimmed with a simple frame and he began to recall putting it there to remind him that as soon as all of this was over with, he could return to her. That had been it's purpose initially. Was it the same now? Or was it simply haunting him?

His initial reaction would have been to slam the photo down on the desk so that he didn't have to tolerate it but somehow, he felt as if his anger was no longer red hot. He was still furious in some ways of course, but not in the way that he felt like screaming at everyone and everything in his line of sight. More in a way that he was hurt - he'd progressed onto the next level. Denial and isolation had passed. Now he was just stuck in a rump, a never-ending circle that consisted of an intense amount of conflicted and internal pain.

He studied the photograph closely until his eyes shrunk into small slits. His throat tightened although he wouldn't allow himself to cry. Not at his workplace. Not here. Not anywhere unless he was sure that no one could see him.

Taking a deep and shaking breath, he took the frame into his hands. He pulled the object towards him gingerly as if it were some sort of deadly animal that could attack him at any moment. It may have seemed odd but in his mind, that assumption was somewhat correct. He knew that if he allowed it to even tickle his emotions at the slightest, everything would suddenly be too overwhelming to handle. He wouldn't be able to hinder his tears.

But still, he brought it closer to himself. He watched her face, that beautiful face. The one he used to call his own. He almost laughed. How long ago was that? Because it seemed like a stretched and sorrowful lifetime, filled with mistakes and regrets. What was left for him without Quinn?

He wasn't as naïve as he used to be. He assumed that financially and physically he could survive without her. That was the boring, obvious part. But he also _knew_ that he couldn't go much longer without her, emotionally or mentally. He _knew_ that if she was gone for what felt like too long, he wouldn't handle the pressure. He'd collapse. He _knew_ that he needed her and that seemed like all he ever seemed to know.

Biting the inside of his mouth to delay the tears that were threatening to pour out of his sockets, he closed them and put the photo aside. He placed his trembling fingers on the keyboard. _Type something,_ he commanded himself but his fingers refused to move along the keys, _just type something, you God-damned idiot!_

He pulled his fingers away, taking a deep breath. "I can't do this…" he whispered, surprised that he was admitting this to himself for the first time over this week, this incredibly long week.

Sam had grown fond of Finn, they were friends. But he knew that there was going to be a time when he would need to go home. And he felt that time arriving, every day, every moment. Considering it, he took another breath.

Now was that time. It was time to go home.

He scurried off out of the office and made his way outside, taking his cell phone with him.

"Hello? Finn, is that you? Yeah, well I just wanted to tell you that I won't be coming back tonight so you don't need to make me anything from dinner. Where am I going? I-… I'm going home, Finn. I'm going home to see my wife."

* * *

><p>Quinn had been pregnant before. She knew the works. She was aware of what she should and shouldn't do, the risk factors, the do's and the don't's. She had common sense too. A lot of it. Yet she felt like this night particular should be an exception of those rules. Breaking into her liquor cabinet, she'd allowed herself a glass of wine. <em>It's okay,<em> she'd said,_ it's just one glass and it won't do any harm._ But one glass had turned into two, and then another and then another and now here she was, feeling slightly dizzy and with less care for what was occurring inside of her than before.

Perhaps getting 'buzzed' should have been fun but it wasn't because she knew what had happened the time before. If anything, it just brought back painful memories that she didn't want to nor feel the need to experience. After all, it had been all her nightmares had consisted of recently - him leaving, her all alone.

She kept the last test she'd taken in front of her, sitting on the living room table. She stared at it. It stared at her. It was a constant reminder of her mistakes but it could make him come back. If he knew, then he'd come back. Right?

She wanted to tell him somehow but she couldn't find the appropriate way to communicate with him. Knowing he wouldn't answer her calls, that option had become extinct a long time ago. And how could she say over text? That would have been awful. Not to mention the fact she had no idea where the hell on earth he was.

Sighing, she downed the last of… was it drink 5? She couldn't remember. A little out of it, she hadn't heard the door creaking open yet she somehow managed to pick up on footsteps. Heavy, manly footsteps at that. Her ears perked up. She perked up. Could it be…?

She was disappointed to find that it wasn't her husband. Instead, she was met by a nervous-seeming Noah Puckerman. She slumped back into the sofa. She would have groaned if she had the energy but the tears had swallowed all of that up.

"What do you want?" she demanded immediately, offering him no sympathy or warm greeting.

"I'm sorry," he apologised hastily, "I know I said I would but gone but I forgot a few things. Is it okay if I can and get th- wow…" he cooed, noticing the empty wine bottle and her hazy facial expression for the first time, "you're having fun, aren't you?"

She would have told him to get lost but she was too busy staring into space. Her lips pursed, she slammed the empty glass upon the table.

Puck didn't take this as a good sign yet it was in his nature to push people and inflict pain when they especially didn't need it. His standard, arrogant aura that she knew all too well soon clicked into place.

"Wow, Quinn. I mean really, when you told me you didn't feel like drinking the other day, I believed you but now I know the real reason. You didn't want to share the liquor, did you?" he chuckled to himself whilst she continued to act as if he wasn't even there. "Well, I'll tell you something. You-"

His breath was cut short as he glanced upon the table for the second time. A pregnancy test. A _positive _pregnancy test. "Is that…?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" she snarled, shooting him a harsh glare and making eye contact for the first time. When he simply continued to stare at her blankly, she retorted, "Didn't think so."

"Quinn…" he sighed unhappily and uncharacteristically after an awfully long pause which he'd held his breath for the majority of. He sat upon the couch beside her, slinging an arm over her shoulder. She felt so numb she didn't even care nor attempt to remove it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it worse than it already was." he apologised sincerely.

"Yeah, well," she cocked her head to one side and began to fill up another glass, "I've noticed you 'don't mean' to do a lot of things."

"Hey, it's not me who got you pregnant this time!" he defended himself, scoffing as he removed his arm from around her and crossed it with the other on his own chest. "Or… did I?" he asked, a confused look lingering on his face as he stared on thoughtfully.

Scoffing, she shook her head and swallowed a gulp of wine. "Oh please! Like I'd let you anywhere near my-… never mind." she stopped herself in the nick of time.

They sat in an eerie silence for another moment or two. All was incredibly awkward until Puck spoke up again. "Any sign of him…?" he asked, allowing her own mind to finish the end of his question.

"Nope." she stared onwards, punctuating her words harshly. "Not at the slightest."

"This is all my fault… isn't it?" he asked innocently.

"No shit, Einstein."

Puck opened his mouth to retort with a witty comment but he stopped himself before he did. He knew who he was dealing with here. Quinn Fabray didn't like witty comments, not unless they were coming from her own mouth.

Just as Quinn had thought the topic had passed over, he spoke up again. "You don't have to be sad you know… he's going to come back."

"And how can you be so sure?" she scoffed, laughing humorously and turning to face him. "Do you read minds now? Please tell me, for I'm dying to know. Let me in on some of your 'Puckster logic', Noah. Enlighten me."

Puck swallowed, briefly looking away before his attention returned to her. "Because," he began, shuffling closer to her and taking her hand in his own. He felt her flinch at the physical contact but didn't allow her to pull away. He was grasping the moment. "You're a great wife. I've watched you and you're so good to him… and you're beautiful. And any guy would be so lucky too…"

He couldn't find it in himself to finish his sentence. Suddenly, everything felt like the end of sophomore year again. There he was, shyly confessing his love for her. But not just his love - that'd he'd always loved her, since before she could even imagine.

Slowly, he began to close the gap in between them. He prayed she didn't resist but he couldn't see anything because his eyes were already closed and his lips were already puckered and headed in her direction.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day progressed naturally for Sam although after a while, it began to feel a lot more typical day. Knowing he was going <em>home<em>, real home, made everything about him so much more content but that failed to erase his nervousness. He was petrified to face her again. He hoped she still loved him.

The car ride back to the house was the scariest part of it all. What was he to say? His mind was nothing but a blank page and he was desperately searching for an answer. Finally, as he pulled up and parked in the driveway in Finn's busted, old truck, he decided to go with his heart - he would pull her close to him and kiss her. Tell her that he was sorry for everything that had passed and hope that it _had_ passed. And he hoped that she was too.

His fingers quivering, he gently twisted the doorknob open. Her vehicle in the driveway was a signifier that she was home so he'd had no doubts that the door would be open. _She always locks it at exactly half past ten,_ he recalled the tender memories.

"_Quinn, how come you always lock the door at a certain time every night?" he asked with inquisitive, childlike innocence. They had been living in their small, homely apartment for a couple of months now and he'd started to pick up on this strange habit of hers. Every night she would check her digital watch and wait for the precise time to glow in aluminous figures. He had grown a fascination for this small gesture and was now beginning to speak of it._

"_Because," she began with a sigh, finishing locking up and then returning to her space of the sofa beside him, "it's nice to have an order in life. It feels good and kind of lets your know what's to come in the future."_

_Sam thought of this for a moment or two as he fondled his girlfriend in his arms. "So, you don't like surprises?" he asked curiously, a little too curiously. Fortunately for him, she didn't pick up on this._

_Quinn shifted uncomfortably in thought. "It depends what the surprise is…" she mused as she gazed off into the distance, "if you're talking a wild burglar breaking into my house during the middle of the night kind of surprise, then no, I don't. But if you're talking the nice kind of surprises, like gifts you weren't expecting or visits from old friends at the right time then yes, I love surprises."_

"_Oh, okay." he had replied, a small grin forming on his lips. They had kissed gently for a while before falling asleep whilst watching some late night TV, something of a crime-related drama. Sam had been engrossed by the whole episode but Quinn had quickly fallen asleep in his arms._

_He sighed, gazing upon the beautiful blonde woman in his arms. _She's mine,_ he'd reminded himself, _I can't believe I'm so lucky.

_The following week, Sam had proposed._

Looking back now, it all seemed so long ago. He tip-toed into the house. He wanted to surprise her but he didn't want to frighten her so he opted to check on her whereabouts first of all. Lurking in the shadows of the hallway, he glanced through a small crack in the door which led to the living room. The light leaking out of the tiny space had indicated that something was occurring there.

He closed one eye, trying to get a good view as he could hear muffled voices talking in low conversation. He felt his stomach drop when he grasped the concept of the happenings before him.

He stumbled backwards a few steps, throat tight with rage and fear. He no longer cared if he made a noise. Because Noah Puckerman was kissing his wife.

* * *

><p>"Whoa, Puck!" Quinn screeched a few moments after his lips had made contact with her own. "What the fuck are you doing?"<p>

Puck jumped back in surprise, not expecting such a reaction. "Hey! I just figured, you know, you're lonely, I'm lonely… maybe we could…-"

"Are you insane?" she yelled, now even louder than previously. "I'm married! Married to _Sam_!"

"Oh, come on!" he groaned in annoyance. "He's not even here and you're already pregnant! What harm could I do? I'll be quick, I promise."

For a moment, Quinn just stared at him incredulously. _Is he serious?,_ she asked herself. She soon grasped reality again, looked at who she was talking to and dragged him clear off of the sofa by his collar.

"Sorry, you _are_ insane. What a silly question to ask." she growled, shoving him in the direction of the door. "I don't care where you go, you just need to go _now_. And this time, you are not, I repeat, _are not_ stepping foot back into this house until my husband comes back to officially kick you out. You hear me?"

"But my things-"

"_I DON'T CARE!_" she screamed, the outburst sucking the wind out of her lungs completely before she slammed the door brashly, hoping it was effective in smashing into his face.

She stared at what had just occurred, breathless for a moment. She then screamed, unloading all of her anger and sorrow. This had officially been the worst night since he'd left.

* * *

><p><em>Drive,<em> Sam's mind growled at him. He snarled at his own thoughts, his palms sweating and proving it difficult to clasp onto the steering wheel properly. His knuckles were white, his strong grip also affected by his rage.

He had no idea where on earth he was going. He just knew he needed to _go_. Anywhere but here, as far away from _that_ as possible.

Still, his mind kept lingering on the topic. How long had that been going on for when he'd walked in? Did she plan to sleep with him? Now that he was gone was she getting it anywhere she could? Or did she still love Noah Puckerman?

Had she always loved Noah Puckerman? Did Beth set that in stone? Did it bring her to that realisation? So many questions, too little answers.

He didn't want to think about it but he continued to do so. In fact, he continued to do so to a point where he didn't pay attention to the road. And soon, that proved problematic. After taking a slightly dodgy turn, he found his once strong grip on the steering wheel weaken, his eyes flare open in shock.

A van swirled into him and the truck began to spiral out of control. His seatbelt hadn't been intact, therefore he not only caused a lot of damage to the car but to himself.

The last thought that entered his mind before he dosed off into the black nothingness was, _how could she do this to me?_

**Review if you liked it, if you hated it... I just like reviews!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'M SO SORRY! This is the slowest update ever BUT as I was nearly finishing writing this chapter, my computer only broke down. That means I've lost the doccument and had to start from scratch and adding my writer's block and lack of time, that's nearly proved impossible since I've not written this on my own computer. I also don't like this chapter very much... sigh.**

Quinn woke up the following morning feeling worse than she actually thought possible. It hit her again, as it did every single time, that she was completely and utterly alone. She glanced to her side, she spread her hands out, praying to find that he'd returned. Unfortunately, her fantasies were far stretched. He was never there.

Not bothering to shower (why bother over personal hygiene when nobody is going to see you?) she forced herself downstairs, dragging her feet in a childlike manner as her hair flung upwards and outwards in disorderly directions. Her feet ached each time she took one simple step but nothing could compare to the throbbing occuring inside her head. Sometimes, she wasn't sure if it was just the thought of being without him or the actual alochol but she was beginning to believe that both theories were valid and taking their toll on her. Either way, she felt like hell on legs.

The kitchen was no different to the night before - a trainwreck. Empty milk cartoons which she hadn't bothered to throw out and bowls of unfinished food were dotted loosely around the room. Anybody who knew her as her usual orderly self wouldn't have believed that this was her house. _Thank goodness I don't live with my mother anymore,_ she thought almost laughing at the thought. If she was still living with Judy Fabray, things would have been a lot different. Still, she'd rather be alone than with that woman. She may have evolved into a better woman over the years but she was still awfully irritating to live with.

Quinn opted for cereal this partiuclar morning, seeing as she didn't have the energy or brain cells to make much else. Even toast would have been a complex meal for her to provide for herself. So, she grabbed what she needed and made do with it before bringing the bowl into the living room with her. On a usual day, she would have never allowed anyone to eat a meal outside of the dining room. She had firm rules which she liked to keep when Sam had been with her. Now, she hadn't bothered much to enforce them, especially since Puck had left too. What was the point of rules when there was no one to apply them to?

Flumping on the couch, she tried not to listen to closely to the sound of her own chewing mashed with her aching brain and daunting thoughts. Desperately in need of a distraction as the thoughts were proving too strong, she glanced over to her left to find the house phone bleeping red, indicating that she had messages to attend to. Sighing, she placed the cereal bowl on the coffee table before her, not even batting an eyelid over the milk that sloshed over one side. She then grabbed the phone and began to lazily press buttons.

_Five messages?,_ she asked herself, quirking an eyebrow. She barely even got phone calls often. _Perhaps..._ could it be him? She decided dwelling over it may increase her hopes too much and she certainly didn't want that just to be let down so she quickly dialled in the keys that were necessary. She awaited the voice anxiously, hoping for it to read out Sam's mobile number. It didn't.

The number the strangely unfamiliar but all of the messages were recieved from that one number so she decided to call up instead of listening to the messages. Someone picked up almost straight away.

"Quinn? Is that you?" a flustered and seemingly worried Finn asked.

"Finn? Yeah, it's me... why did you call me five times, may I ask?" she inquired, yawning to indicate her drowsiness. It was already nearing midday and she did not feel like having this conversation right now. It didn't partiuclarly capture her interests.

"Oh, I'm so glad you finally called! What in the world have you been doing?" there was a brief pause as Quinn tried to reply but Finn soon cut her off, "Never mind, it doesn't matter. We've no time. You need to get down to Lima General _now_."

Quinn groaned. "Why, Finn? Why must I get down to Lima General? I'm a very busy woman and although it confuses me as to why you are ringing me, if it's something to do with-"

"It's about Sam." There was an edgy silence as Quinn brought herself back to life. Immediately raising from her seated position, she delayed all of the sleepiness that was crowding her system and tried to clear her mind.

"What about him?"

"He was in a car accident last night. We don't know how bad it is yet but I've been here since he was in my car when he crashed. I'm sure you'll want to be here, even if you two are not speaking right now."

Finn could barely get his last breath out before Quinn had hastily informed him she was on her way. It took her all of fiffteen minutes to dress, brush her hair and launch herself in the direction of the local hospital.

* * *

><p>The drive was daunting, but she made it. It was her thoughts that had terrified her. All of the 'what ifs' were cornering every aspect of her thinking. She probably would have ended up in a crash herself if she hadn't been able to remind herself that all of this was for him. <em>He needs me,<em> she told herself and instinctively, her body needed no more provoking than that.

Everything seemed to happen in a flurry. She vaguely remembered demanding to see her husband at a reception before she was led to a waiting room outside of what she was told was Sam's hospital room. Being rather unfamiliar with hospitals (she'd prefer to steer clear after her first child) it was all a little hazy for her, but things started to clear up once she came across Finn.

"Finn!" she called the taller man who was pacing in lines, evidentially nervous. His face seemed to soften as soon as he realised her presence though and he engulfed her in a friendly embrace, as if they'd been friends for years. Quinn barely noticed; her mind was too overcrowded to pick up on what she considered small details.

"Oh my God, Quinn. Thank God you're here!"

"Is he okay? Has the doctor been out yet? Can I see him?"

Finn was slightly taken aback by the questions that were so quickly thrown upon them and he seemed torn with himself whilst deciding which one to answer first. "Well, I, uhm... I don't know yet. Nobody's told me anything, I think the doctor will be out soon. He's not allowed visitors just yet."

Quinn groaned, holding the bridge of her nose. "What on earth was he thinking? He's always so careful when he drives! 20 miles an hour is always his preferred speed... why, why, why..."

"Uhm, well, maybe he had a lot on his mind." Finn suggested. There was a brief pause as Quinn tried to somehow fathom what he was implying. Of course, Finn was fully aware that Sam had been headed to Quinn's house before the crash. He still wasn't quite educated on the whole idea of him seeing Puck kissing Quinn though.

Before Quinn could open her mouth to respond, the doctor approached them and all worries were left behind. All that mattered now was Sam.

"Hello, Mr. Hudson and what I'm assuming is Mrs. Evans?" he asked. Both nodded attentively. "Right, well you'll be happy to know that there had been no partiuclarly serious injuries. The crash was pretty bad so he could count himself lucky in some ways but all in all, he won't suffer too much. No memory loss, no broken bones... unfortunately, he has lost a lot of blood so he'll be fatigued for the best part of the next few weeks but nothing that we can't sort out..."

Quinn tuned in and out of the doctor's oh so boring voice. He spoke from the clipboard, making it all too easy for Quinn's mind to wander. Honestly, she didn't care all that much about the injuries - just that he was going to be okay.

"Can he see vistors yet?" she asked, eyes wide with hope as the doctor seemed to be finishing up.

"Yes, you're in luck. You may need to be gentle though. We have suspiscions that he's still in shock from the crash his body is going to ache an awful lot."

Quinn nodded, not really caring. She would be the gentlest she could. Heck, maybe that way he'd want to take her back. It was all she could think about.

There was no question over who would go first - Quinn was family, so she was granted the access and she took advantage of that. Scurring closely behind the doctor, she anxiously awaited the moment in which she could lay eyes on her husband, her beautiful husband worth all of her adoration, for what seemed like years now. She really missed him that much.

The lighting of the room was slightly dim. _Gosh, I hate hospitals..._ Quinn's thoughts echoed as she studied the room. They may have been cleanly, but that did not mean they were a pretty sight. Even more so, she hated the idea that Sam had spent the whole night here. How had she allowed this to happen? She should have been with him. They shouldn't have been arguing. This was petty. She didn't want to be petty anymore, she just wanted him back.

When she finally did catch her first glance of him, her eyes betrayed her horror. Seeing him in such a vulnerable position which she had no control over was mortifying. _How have I allowed this to happen?,_ she asked again, studying every cut, scrape, bruise and gash that appeared over his skin. His face clenched up in pain was such a sad sight. She could barely bring herself to focus on him without wanting to burst into heavy fits of tears.

"I'll give you two a moment alone..." the doctor nodded before slipping out of the room as if he had never been there.

Sam's eyes remained closed but he began to stir at the sound of the doctor's voice. Groaning at his aching body, he flinched slightly at the touch of a warm hand against his own. Grudgingly, he began to open his eyes which felt like they had been glued together.

"Sam..." Quinn whispered, forcing a smile as her eyes begin to brim with that saline liquid she was so familiar with. "Sam, it's me. It's Quinn..."

His expression was unreadable. As he got his first full look at his wife, he looked more shocked than anything but Quinn couldn't be sure. There was something unnerving in his eye, something that gave off the signal that she wouldn't like his reaction. Still, she braced herself and hoped for the best anyway.

"Sam, it's okay. I'm here now." she whispered softly, pushing his bangs out of his hair and giving him a slight push back down. He'd been trying to sit up and she wasn't in the position to allow him to hurt. He'd hurt enough emotionally over this past few days and she didn't want things any worse on his part. "You've been in a bad accident, but it's okay. I'm going to look after you."

"No."

When his short and blunt answer hit her after a brief pause, Quinn's whole body tightened. "What do you mean 'no'?" she asked after he shurgged off her loving touch.

"I don't want you to look after me." he answered in a matter-of-factly tone that just about shocked Quinn more than the actual words themselves.

"Sam," she laughed humourlessly, her tears of happiness at seeing him and worrying for his welfare now converting to those of anger, "I know you're angry at me but after being in a car crash, I would have expected that you'd be a little more open to seeing me. I'm sorry for what I've done, but I'm your wife. Please, don't be silly."

"I'm not being silly, Quinn." he spat, ignoring the pain and he increased the distance between them. "I don't need you here." his voice was raising despite his aching throat. Seeing her brought back so many feelings. If he could have, he wished he would have been able to forget what his eyes had seen. Yet, he couldn't no matter how hard he tried. The consequences just meant that he'd see his wife in a way he'd never want to.

"Why?" she asked, standing as her own voice began to higher in volume. "I can't believe how childish you've been! Do you want me to apologise again? Sam, I can do that, you know. I-I can apologise. I'm sorry, I know I did wrong. But please, don't you feel like you're being a little childish out this?"

"Me childish?" he questioned incredulously, his eyes bulging open. "Oh, no. _You're_ the childish one. I don't see how me wishing not to be part of a three-way relationship is childish."

Just as Quinn was about to respond with confusion, a nurse peered through the doorway. "Is everything okay in here, Mr Evans?" she asked. It was only then that the couple realised the height of their voices.

"Actually, no it's not, nurse. I'm sorry, but can you please ask my wife to leave? I'm a little tired, I'm not ready for visitors yet."

"What? Sam, I-"

"Of course. Come on, Mrs Evans, you can revisit your husband later." the nurse urged her gently, engering the room and taking Quinn by her elbows ever-so gently.

Still conscious of the fact that Sam was fragile right now, Quinn didn't cause a scene physically. However, that didn't stop her from verbally protesting or trying to persuade him. "No! Please, Sam. I just... can't we talk about this?"

The last thing she got was one last look of his. It seemed regretful, but also glad of her riddance. She didn't know how to interpret that so instead she just took what she was given and allowed the nurse to take her away. She hoped that her tears weren't all that visible.

* * *

><p>"And so he just threw you out? Just like that?" Finn questioned.<p>

Currently, they were sitting opposite one another in the hospital cafeteria. Although Sam had specifically requested that he was not to see visitors as of yet, they were still permitted to roam the premisis until further consent was given.

"Yup." Quinn answered deadpan, her eyes glued to the unsipped coffee in front of her. "Just like that."

After conjuring up thousands of scenarios in her mind on the way here, Sam unwilling to see her was not one of them. She had not been emotionally prepared for his resentment and yet she'd had to undergo it. It was like a nightmare. The last thing she wanted was for him to reject her, not after all they'd been through.

Evnidentially, Finn was tense as Quinn spoke every word. It took her longer than it probably should have since Quinn's thoughts were so muddled but she finally picked up on this and managed to pry out what was troubling him. Convincing him to spit it out may not have been easy but hearing what he had to say was ten times worse.

"Okay, well, uhm... I kind of know that before Sam ended up in the crash, he was headed to your place. He'd called me during work and told me that he planned to see you on the way home." Finn had already explained that Sam had been living with him to Quinn and she seemed somewhat thankful of that. She respected Finn in a lot of ways. They may not have been able to be close friends after their past but she realised that he was a good man and had matured incredibly since high school. She considered him one of the more healthy options of a housemate for her husband.

There was a dead silence as Quinn processed the words. "Wait, you mean, like..."

"Like he was planning on seeing you to talk it out with you and... maybe come home." Finn answered timidly as he averted his gaze. He hated being the barer of news like this because it was pretty much unreadable.

"Oh God..." Quinn groaned, propping her elbows on the table and then holding her head in her hands. "I was so out of it last night I probably wouldn't have even seen him there... what time was the crash?"

"Around half seven, apparently. I haven't seen the police just yet but it was only Sam who suffered from the crash. Both car's were damaged though..."

"Half seven..." Quinn muttered in deep thought, "Psh, I was _so_ out of it by then."

"Wait, you were drinking?" Finn asked, surprised. "Wasn't that what drove Sam away in the first place?"

"A lot on my mind. I needed a quick distraction, something to help me unwind myself." she murmured.

"Quinn." Finn spoke sternly, catching her eye contact as she showed signs of tears. "You know you shouldn't have done that. Things may be hard right now but did you honestly think Sam was going to-"

"I'm pregnant." she blurted out and the rest of the world seemed to stop spinning. The empty chatter that filled the room slowed and they even earned themselves a few nosey glances from the other occupants of the cafeteria.

"Like..."

"Like pregnant with child, Finn. And no, not through a hot tub. Through Sam's penis."

"Alright, I get it." Finn answered, his own mind now reeling.

After a lengthy pause full of awkwardness, Quinn gasped in horror. "Oh no..." she murmured.

"What? What is it, Quinn?" Finn asked, his eyes bulging wide open.

"I-... last night, something very bad happened." she began to sob now, Finn glancing around awkwardly. _Should I comfort her?,_ he asked himself but soon decided that they weren't close enough yet. Instead, he just took her hand in a friend-like fashion and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Last night, around that time, Puck had shown up and-"

"Finn?" a familiar voice cut them off and all of the thoughts that may have been processing through the taller man's mind. All was forgotten through that one, simple call of his name.

"R-Rachel?" he asked, eyes bright with pain. Even Quinn was taken aback despite her seemingly solid depression. "What are you doing here?" he asked, laying eyes on the brunette he once, or possibly still did, love.

**So short. Ugh, I hate myself. I promise when my computer's fix, I'll try and start updating ASAP! I'm such an awful person and this chapter also reflects how awful I think my writing is right now... I hate it but I hope you enjoyed it.**


	15. Chapter 15

**This fic is almost finished! I think I have about one chapter left. I hope you enjoy this one since I found it quite challenging.**

There was a brief pause before Finn spoke again. Despite the the fact that he had seen her not all too long ago at the reunion (even if that may have seemed like an eternity to Quinn), just having her there in front of him completely whipped any possible words he could have said to her away. Conjuring a sentence any time soon seemed like an impossibilty.

"Why are you here?" he finally managed to choke, although unsure of how he had done so. "Where's Jesse?" for the first time, Finn had overcome the intial shock of her presence to realise that she was alone and without her usual, curly-haired companion. His words were short and blunt, not because he was hostile but simply due to the fact that he was struggling to speak.

Rachel opened her mouth as if she had a statement prepared. She then re-closed her dry lips and took a seat on the small coffee table without invitation. Although drowsy, Quinn had somehow managed to pick up on the redness of her eyes and the burning pink of her cheeks in contrast with what was usually tanned skin but now ivory flesh, perhaps due to fear or shock - she had been crying.

"Not here." she murmured, averting her gaze to the floor. Even though see seemed so vulnerable right now, it was difficult to miss her glamour. Everything about her screamed Broadway, right down from her elegantly casual outfit to her quiffed brunette locks, even the way she held her posture with her hands resting gently and nervously on her lap. "Actually, not in Lima at all. Just gone."

Finn shot a look of confusion towards Quinn who simply pouted her lips and shrugs. It wasn't that she didn't care for Rachel's personal life, it was just most of the other issues in the world seemed rather petty compared to hers in her mind right then.

"What do you mean, Rachel?" Finn asked curiously, trying to ease the tension of the situation. He had just come to terms with the fact that this was an incredibly awkward situation. Not too many years ago, these three people who were now talking over coffee in Lima General had been involved in a vicious love triange. They had many reasons to hate or resent one another. To find themselves in such a position now, speaking face-to-face about intimate feelings like they had so terribly failed to do in High School, seemed so bizzare.

It was not long before tears began creeping down Rachel's serene expression. The tears compared to such a tranquil, peaceful features seemed more than odd. Even Quinn would admit that she looked like a weeping angel. "He's just gone, Finn. He's gone."

All tension was pushed behind as Finn released his suspiscions that he held earlier about the girl. He stood from his chair, rushing to her side and wrapping her arms around her chest, hushing softly as the pace of her sobbing increased. Despite remaining unaware of whatever was causing her grief, his feelings for her had urged him to help her.

Quinn simply sat where she was, her eyes loosing focus until she was gazing outside of a small window which showed the stormy Lima she lived in. Rain was pitter-pattering down the pane of the window in sync with Rachel's tears and she soon found her own emotions brimming to the top. For a while, she had held herself what she would have considered rather well. Now, she was beginning to feel the full force of what had happened.

_He's just gone._

"He's gone." she whispered as her own eyes glossed over. It wasn't too long until she had small, saline droplets drooling down her own angelic features.

* * *

><p>Finn found himself hard at work whilst trying to calm down both girls. In many ways, it was like high school - he had found himself attempting to balance his time out of two girls that he deemed worthy of attention yet it hadn't worked so well. Once one girl seemed to have simmered down, he would move to the next and the previous would almost immediately begin to brim with emotion again.<p>

After about an hour or so, both girls were in a steady state or at least Finn considered this the best he was going to get. He had somehow managed to find an empty waiting room in the midst of the busy hospital. Sitting both girls down, he tended to their needs until the tears had begun to stop. Now, both of them were just quivering.

"Rachel," he began, turning to the brunette first, "Where's Jesse?" he asked adamantly.

"He was here not too long ago." Rachel admitted, sniffling as she dabbed her cheek with a tissue. "We... we came to Lima for a reason, Finn. We didn't just show up for some reunion that I couldn't care less about."

Pushing aside her snipey tone, the tall man pressed on. "And is that reason why you're so upset?"

"Partially." she replied with a shaky breath, "But other factors have also latched on to my reason for heartbreak." Finn looked at her expectantly, awaiting an elaboration with little patience. "Jesse and I... we thought I was pregnant."

That sucked the air out of Finn's lungs. He stubbled back a few steps though trying to make it seem like he hadn't. After regaining his composure, he glance in Rachel's way again.

"We came here in order to see a doctor, you know, to clarify whether I was or not. We were afraid though, afraid that someone would find out. I mean, if they were to find out I was pregnant in New York, I'd been kicked off of Broadway in no time. It's such a hard business. We figured that Lima would be the perfect place to come for a doctors visit since it was home for me. It was a great opportunity to see my dads and also with the reunion, nobody would suspect a thing."

Finn nodded, processing her words gradually. "And the results?" he asked after a brief pause.

Rachel parted her lips. Her eyes bore desperately into Finn's. Beside her, Quinn sat with a less than pleased expression, gazing off into the distance, thoughtful and gormless.

"Negative." the brunette finally breathed, her eyes straying and a pained expression overcoming her dark features.

Mentally, Finn took a sigh of relief. If Rachel wanted children right now, that would have been perfectly fine, he just preferred that she wasn't pregnant because it gave him more of a shot especially with Jesse apparently 'gone'. They may not have been together but he still cared about her deeply and they both knew he was the jealous type; he would do so many things to get her back in his arms.

"So what's the problem? Everything will be fine with work, right? I suppose you woulld probably go back off to New York and live happily..." he mused, leaving a gap and a lingering tone to the last sentence, implying that she could continue.

"Not exactly." Rachel sighed sadly, dropping her proud posture and falling back into the chair. "After we found out the results, we may have found ourselves in an... exchange of words. One of words that perhaps weren't so pleasant."

"And what did you argue about?" Finn wasted no time.

"He picked up on the fact that I was more than happy about these results. He realises that my career is important to me and he also feels the same way but he felt that I was perhaps too overjoyed by the news. Then, he asked me whether it was because I didn't plan on spending the rest of my life with him... and I said yes."

Finn shot her a judgemental look that was plagued with curiosity. _She didn't plan on spending the rest of her life with him._

"And then he asked me if I had feelings for someone else. And I said yes."

The way she pronounced her words, so carefully and meaningful, suggested only one thing - Finn was that someone else. He had to use all of his willpower not to gasp and fall at her knees. As much as he wanted to confess his undying love and commit himself to her right there and then, he thought back to all those years he had spent hurt _because of her._ He recalled his once fantastic potential and compared it to his now overly average lifestyle self-employed and still on low wages.

"I see." he choked, nodding his head. "Could you excuse me for just a second?" Before either women could say another word, he was gone.

The atmosphere was now thick with tension as only Quinn and Rachel were left present. Feeling her lip quivering and tears threatening to spill out of her chocolate orbs, Rachel turned the conversation on the blonde beside her.

"And you, Quinn... why are you so upset? You were always so strong and independent."

Quinn would have laughed if she had found herself able. "That faded long ago, my friend." she retorted with a gentle shake of the head.

"Y-You... didn't answer my question." Rachel murmured, twiddling with her thumbs as a distraction from the blonde's eyes. "Why are you here and so distraught?"

"My husband doesn't want me." she laughed humourlessly, "He left me. And he stood on the line of life and death and he still doesn't want me and he won't. Because who would ever? Right?"

"Quinn, I don't understand." Rachel furrowed her brows. This conversation had successfully driven her away from her earlier troubles of Finn and Jesse. "Why doesn't he want you?"

Quinn shook her head and stood, chomping down on her bottom lip forcefully in order to hinder her tears. "It doesn't matter. You wouldn't understand. But I hope everything works out for you living the dream, Rachel."

Not another word was spoken until Quinn stormed out of the empty waiting room, falling immediately between the hustle and bustle of the only hospital in town. Surrounded by people in white coats, vistors with joy, some with sorrow, she had never felt so alone. She fell still for a moment, hearing the grunt of annoyance from people passing by, often knocking into her purposely in order to move her.

She couldn't move though, not now anyway. All she could do was think and think and think until her brain felt like it was at brusting point. She over analysed everything, her mind even brushing over topics that weren't relevant such as what she had for dinner last night without him there and the night before that and that and that... she thought until she was completely out of thoughts to think.

And then the last thing that came to mind surprised her but she pursued it, just like every other thought: the baby. Why hadn't that come first? She used her hands to fondle the non-existent bump she swore she could feel forming. Whimpering, she shook her head as she pinched at the flesh. _Why won't it go away?,_ she asked herself, cursing under her breath multiple times due to the pain she was purposely causing herself.

Finally letting go, she headed to do what she wished she didn't have to consider. She finally arrived at the reception of the office and after waiting a moment, she finally got her moment with the receptionist.

"Do you have any leaflets on abortion?"

* * *

><p>Finn strolled the halls of the hospital that never seemed to sleep. He had forgot what time it was or even the vehicle he had used to get there. All he rememebered was Rachel and why she had left it until <em>this long<em> to finally say something, finally confess something, finally be honest. After all these years, he felt as if he should have accepted this or at least expected it. Now, though, he felt nothing of acceptance or expectancy. Just pain.

He should have been overjoyed that she had came crawling back but he wasn't because he had been forced to endure years of regret because of it. _How could she be so mean?_

His main priority was to find a distraction now. Figuring it was probably his best shot, he went to visit Sam. Sam may have not wanted to see Quinn but Finn had no doubts that his friend, who he cared about, would have no trouble over seeing himself. He was given the all-clear by the doctor and permitted to go in.

"Hey, man." he began timidly, pulling up a chair and sitting backwards on it. "How are you doing?"

Sam gave a gentle groan of fatigue. "I'm so fucking tired..." he murmured and Finn didn't doubt him. The bags under his eyes were impossible to miss and every simple movement he made seemed to be strained with fatigue, even his words were groggy.

"I'll bet you are... do you remember what happened?" he asked gently, hoping not to uproar any unwanted anger within his friend.

"I wish I didn't." he sighed regretfully, "But yeah, I remember quite a lot of it."

"How did you manage to get yourself in a car crash? You're always so careful..."

"I know, I know I am. I'm really sorry about your car by the way." Sam apologised. "I swear, I'll pay for it to get fixed in no time and-"

"Nah, it's cool. Just tell me what happened, I'm not bothered about that right now. I thought you were going home to Quinn?" he pressed on, hoping to get a quick and truthful answer.

"Yup." Sam punctured his 'p', intertwining his own fingers and laying them on his chest as his eyes bore forward and away from Finn. "And that's pretty much how I ended up in the car crash."

"Wait, I'm confused," Finn murmured, furrowing his brows. _Well, it doesn't take much.._ Sam had thought but he decided to keep that snipe to himself. "Were you in the crash before or after you came to see Quinn?"

"After." Sam answered bluntly, letting out a sigh. He was going about this so normally, as if he hadn't completely shunned his wife. Finn found it terribly irritating but he didn't give up with his questioning; he was more than determined to get to the bottom of this, whether the Evans' liked it or not. It would help him to take his mind off his own troubles in addition to the fact that he genuinely cared about Sam, Quinn and their relationship.

"I don't understand, she has no memory of seeing you..."

"That's because I saw her but she didn't see me." Sam made it apparent his sentence was finished by staring at Finn with a forced smile.

Finn moaned in annoyance, standing from the chair and pushing it aside. It took Sam aback to say the least but Finn couldn't care less. "I'm so sick of this, man! Why can't you just be straight with me? How do you expect me to help you or at least understand when you don't tell me _anything_?"

"Because when I saw her, Noah Puckerman was on her face, okay?"

That one left Finn speechless. He attempted to stammer something out but nothing came of it.

"Yeah, that's right. She was kissing him. I didn't want to see, I was angry when I was driving so I ended up in a crash. There, are you happy? The truth's finally out..."

"Man, I'm sorry, I just-"

"Go, please. It was a mistakme letting anyone in here. I'm not in the mood."

Finn would have argued otherwise but he didn't want to cause any more pain than he had already. He obliged quickly, only stopping at the door to murmur a brief 'I'm sorry'. He then set off to find one Quinn Evans.

**Short but sweet, I hope. Reviews are bliss!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Last chapter and a very long one at that! I hope you've enjoyed this story. Thank you for being faithful readers and reviewers and look forward to more Glee stories in the future.**

After thanking the receptionist for the pamphlet she'd been handed, Quinn decided to head out of the hospital for a little while. Not for very long at all; even if Sam had no intentions of seeing her any time soon, she still felt the need to stick around. Just a small moment to step back and escape the suffocating air of the hospital. She hated the feeling of being there whilst knowing she couldn't see him. No, scratch that, he didn't _want_ to see her. And that was ten times worse than any blockage of law or human rights or simply a physical boundary between them. Ten times worse.

She opted to go to the local park that was nearby. The day was tired with rainclouds looming above, a dreary day that seemed to bring nothing but the threat of a long, heavy downpour. Therefore, she assumed the park would be fairly scarce of people and that's exactly what she needed. An escape where she could just sit back and overthink everything as she did without other troubles. Also, she didn't want to risk running into someone familar, which happened often in a place like Lima, she knew from experience. She wasn't in the mood to explain her tear-stained face.

After strolling for a good few minutes through the near enough empty terrain, she chose herself a small little bench where she then sat and reflected upon what had happened over the last few months. Life had been good. Actually, like had been wonderful. Then were was a problem which continued to esculate until her relationship with her husband had reached a bursting point and was no longer capable of surviving. How had it come to this?

That thought scared her. Not only did she hate thinking about where she was now but it also made her think of the future and that was one of the most terrifying concepts that had ever came across her mind: to be alone when she was older. She didn't want that. She'd always imagined herself to remain with Sam, a strong family safe from any outside threats. They would have children who would grow up, pop up and visit from time to time. Now, every dream, every hope, everything had crumbled into nothingness.

Instead, she pushed that thought aside and began to conjure up images of things she didn't suspect possible. She imagined this to be summer rather than a dreary, wet day. There were tall trees, bursting with different shades of green in various shapes of leaves. Sunlight would beam into her gaze from every angle in the sky and flowers would be in full bloom, flamboyant and interesting colours. And Sam would be with her too, that was the most important part of the fantasy.

She'd spent many a summer with Sam. The more recent had consisted with the arguing over who got the side of the bed which was closest to the window due to the heat, then followed by sweaty sex as an apology. That was nice in many aspects but this time would be different. It wouldn't be the dead of night and they wouldn't be alone; they'd be outside, basking in the sun. They'd have a child with them. Yes, a child. Their child.

Perhaps they would stroll through that very park, sit down for a picnik maybe where they would chat and giggle lightly like a proper family. Then, Quinn would watch with a bright grin as Sam taught their little boy or girl how to fly a kyte of play leap frog. It would be like one of those idealistic scenes Quinn often saw in movies that were too far from reality yet too addictive to stop watching.

_Yes, too far from reality,_ she reminded herself. For a moment, she'd been smiling, actually believing it all was real. Now, she was crying. Tears were streaming down her face in every different direction, her vision blurred from the glassy coat her hazel eyes had grown. The warm saline droplets on her face were a strange contrast to the chilly breeze that was looping around, rusting through her hair and making everything that was happening seem so God-damn real. She hated it.

Her thoughts were abruptly shaken, familiar footsteps and a clearing of the throat forcing her to fall out of her hazy fantasy. Immediately, she began to wipe the tears off of her face with the palm of her hands, then tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She sniffled before gazing up into the face of her daughter.

"Beth..." she whispered unsurely, "what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Beth retorted, taking a seat beside her mother, her forehead stressed with concerned. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Quinn laughed softly beneath her tears, sniffling again before falling agaist the back of the bench and folding her arms. Staring straight ahead, she replied mellowly, "Because everything good is going to be gone in a little while."

"What are you talking about?" Beth asked after a brief pause. At first, she'd been unsure whether a hug was too much for their fairly new relationship. Now, she flung her arms around her silently weeping mother, whose tears couldn't seem to stop. "You have plenty of great things in your life. You should be grateful."

"I did." Quinn replied, pulling herself closer to the warmness that was her daughter. She was so lost in what was happening that she never even noticed the strange, loving situation they had now found themselves in. "It's going now though. Soon enough, it's all going to be gone. Papers are going to be signed and then some surgery... and it'll all be gone."

"What are you-" Beth stopped for a moment, taking it to glance at the pamphlet that lay between them. She skim-read over the title multiple times to make sure that her eyes were not decieving her. "You can't be serious." she breathed.

Quinn laighed humourlessly. "No, I just enjoy buying leaflets on abortion and reading them. I'm looking into becoming an abortionist, actually. I quite like the idea of murdering unborn children." she sniped sarcastically. She hadn't meant to lash out on Beth but she hadn't planned on bumping into anyone either, so she was square.

"Mom..." Beth sighed, pulling out of her arms slightly and ignoring the brutal sarcasm, "how long have you... known? That you're pregnant." she asked, unsure of how to phrase it.

"A matter of days. I haven't seen a doctor yet but I've took enough tests and I know the feeling. I lost count after I realised I was going to be having this baby alone."

"Alone?" she inquired timidly, "You're not alone. You have Sam."

That was enough to send Quinn into a hysterical fit of tears. Unable to stop her, Beth had resorted to taking her mother to the nearest restaurant, where she had taken her into the toilets and attempted to calm her. It took a good half an hour or so but she finally managed to stop the tears. She then agreed on taking Beth out to lunch and explaining what had happened over the past few days.

* * *

><p>"Rachel?" Finn asked, approaching the small brunette who was gazing off into the distance as she sat in the waiting room. He had scoured the premisis for Quinn, finding absolutely no sign of her. After giving up, he decided it was time to deal with his own problems for a while.<p>

"Finn..." Rachel whispered, dragging her gaze away from the plain white walls to his soft eyes. "Are you okay? You've been gone for a while."

"Yeah... or at least I think I am, anyway." he sighed, sitting beside his high school girlfriend. "I kind of forget what it's like to feel okay a lot of the time. It sounds stupid but being alone for so long... it really has that effect on someone."

Rachel bit her lip. That had stung her. Even though she knew by Finn's gentle tone that he wasn't directed a snipe at her or guilting her but she had still felt it. She knew this was her fault; his unhappiness was her fault.

"I'm sorry." she murmured, playing with her fingers to avoid eye contact. "I don't know the kind of loneliness you do but I can relate. Sometimes, I feel alone too. I can be surrounded by people in New York every single day yet feel so isolated. Like there's nothing but people and all I am is one. One person who feels the way I do and nobody can relate."

"But you have Jesse." Finn scoffed lightly.

"_Had._" Rachel corrected him carefully, "I had Jesse. And even though he was there physically, I understand that our relationship was founded on our hunger for fame and success. Our passion for music and performing... but not our passion for each other. And that's where I went wrong."

"It took you a while to figure that one out, didn't it." he retorted deadpan, making no attempts to hide his leering. Gazing upon her fully, he could see how she'd aged, became more mature. He had barely been able to look at her to begin with, hr face only bringing regrets. Now, analysing it properly, he saw it. He saw everything through those chocolate orbs.

"Yes." she whispered, "Too long."

"Why did you go without asking me, Rachel?" he asked, turning on her desperately. "Why did you do that to me? _How_ could you do that to me?" she never answered, only staring blankly ahead. "I would have went with you, you know. I would have done... _so much._ Just for you. And you completely ignored me, like I wasn't even there. Like I didn't matter... did I matter?"

"You mattered more than everything, Finn." she breathed, now turning to face him. "And that was the problem. I couldn't want anything more than I wanted to perform. That would have gotten in my way. If I was going to be in any relationship, it had to be mechanical. It had to make me work to be better for myself, for my career. But being with you would only want me to be better for you. And that wasn't the balance I required in order to obtain my career."

There was another icy silence. Finn had certainly not been expecting such a relevation. She'd expected him to laugh it off, or, more characterically, lie and pretend. She had matured. She wasn't the Rachel Berry he knew in high school but more than that. Her flaws were fewer. She had improved the way she thought. She was a lot more than the girl he was so madly in love with.

"And are you happy now?" he asked sincerely. _One last question._ "Everyone says you're going to make it big in the next few months. You're going to hit the big time and you're going to be, as big as you've always wanted to be. And does that make you happy?"

"A career is a lot of things to me, Finn." she answered quietly, turning away from him again to face the wall before her. "It's what I'll be defined by. It'll tag along with me everywhere I'll go. It will support me."

Finn prepared himself for disappointment. He'd hoped for a simple 'no' so that he could kiss her and tell her that he'd do anything for her. Now, he expected nothing to come of this but another couple years of loneliness. Perhaps a date or two he'd never call back.

"But you can do all of those things. But I love you too. And I love you both. So why must I choose?"

His head whipped around instantly and their gazes locked. He drank in her fathomless, chocolate brown eyes. They were beautiful and big, the deepest colour he'd ever seen. And all he could do was think about his beating heart, his cheeks glowing bright red. It wasn't too long until he devoured her lips into a heaty kiss, uncaring of who was nearby and watching. She complied, kissing him back with an equal passion.

* * *

><p>After listening closely to Quinn's story, Beth had been heartbroken for her mother. She respected Sam Evans but she <em>loved<em> her mother, whether they knew each other or not. She couldn't help but take Quinn's side.

With much persuading against Quinn's reluctance, Beth had somehow managed to convince her mother that it would be best if she headed home and showered, perhaps slept for a couple of hours. It had taken a while and Beth had actually restorted to driving the older woman home herself but she did appreciate the reason as to why Quinn wanted to return to the hospital. It was fairly obvious to just about anyone with a heart and a brain.

She herself decided that she would visit the hospital in order to see Sam. Risky, yes, but she wasn't jumping straight into it. After what Quinn had informed her, she had opted to speak to one Finne Hudson first. She soon searched the building until she found him with a small brunette in the corner of the coffee shop, huddled together and whispering to each toher intimately. She'd seen pictures. She _knew_ his face.

It was difficult for her to approach them. Knowing that Finn would have once been her father terrified her but she cared for her mom too much to allow pride to get in the way of anything. She had to get to the bottom of this and convince Sam that he was making a mistake if he let Quinn go.

She'd asked him if he was Finn Hudson just to clarify. Once he'd said yes, he'd excused himself from his conversation with what looked to be his new girlfriend and stepped aside to talk to Beth. She got straight to the point, informing him of what she knew and asking on the parts she was unsure of. Oddly, it seemed that Finn knew more of both sides of the story than both Sam and Quinn did.

"Are you going to fix this?" he asked with serious eyes after explaining the story he knew.

It took her a moment but Beth nodded. "Yes. I'm going to fix this." she stated adamantly. _I'm going to fix this._

"Good because I was getting a little worried I would have to. I'm not really good at that kind of stuff." he joked, winking at the young blonde. Beth smiled in return. He'd bid her goodbye quickly, clearly anxious to get back to his conversation with the jewish girl that was awaiting his return. She allowed him to before thanking him for his help and then heading off out of the coffee shop and towards where she knew Sam's room was. This was going to be difficult.

* * *

><p>Sam was alone. Not just physically right then, but emotionally. He had no one to understand. No one to talk to or even explain his problems to. Absolutely no one.<p>

Why had he sent Finn out? It made no sense. Of course, he was angry but at least he'd have someone, something to lash out on. Anything. He just needed to express how he felt.

Although, now he didn't feel so much like lashing out on anyone. He didn't feel angry or infuriated like before. Now, he just felt sad and hurt. Betrayed, most of all. And lonely. God, he was so lonely.

_Is this how she's feeling?,_ he pondered. He hadn't forgiven her. What he had seen with his own eyes was too much to erase. He couldn't forget it or look past it and quite frankly, he couldn't see himself doing so in the future. His feelings remained though. No matter what he felt against her due to that, his feelings from beforehand would always stay the same.

She was his first love.

His thoughts were knocked by the light sound of tapping on his door. There was a sharp intake of breath to the back of his throat as he wondered who could be behind that door. He forced himself upwards although wincing in pain and ache. Just as he was about to invite whoever it was in, the door opened from the outside of the room.

At first, he thought his eyes were decieving him because he saw Quinn's daughter. Quinn _and Puck's_ daughter, more specifically. Once he realised he was not hallucinating and she was really there, it hurt even more. They had a daughter and that was something Sam could never erase no matter how many years or lifetimes or after-lifetimes he loved Quinn for. There she was, in flesh before him, proving to him just how awful he really felt right then.

"You... You're..."

"I'm Beth. Yes, I'm Quinn's daughter." she finished his sentence for him, walking over cautiously and then planting herself on the bedside chair. "It's okay, you don't have to move or anything. I'm just here to talk to you."

Sam's eyes narrowed, his eyebrows furrowing. _What could she possibly want to talk to me about?,_ he wondered. _Perhaps she'll tell me that she wants me to back off so that her mother and father can be together after all of these years of undying love. Won't this be pleasant._

She took his silence as a signal to go ahead. "Okay, well I'm not here to chastise you or anything. Maybe if you like you can just think of it as... me expressing how I feel, giving you my opinion. You're free to make your own choice about whats going to happen in the future between you and my mom but please just hear me out before you do. Give what I'm saying a chance."

Sam studied her face suspciously but he could find no reason to deny her the chance to talk. He could tell by every one of her gentle, angelic features, much like her mother's, that she was being sincere and genuine. Not bias in anyway, just offering her view on what she clearly knew had gone on.

"My mother didn't cheat on you. Not in so many words, anyway." she began with a sign. Sam opened his mouth to retort but she quickly cut him off. "I know what you're thinking: you saw it, they kissed. I know. But it's not what you think. _He_ kissed _her_. Not the other way around, okay? She didn't kiss him back and pulled away almost immediately."

Scoffing, Sam forced himself to prop up on his elbows even if it did hurt. "And how do you know that? Surely, Quinn had told you some fabricated, fluffy version of the story." He didn't want to be rude but this was his marriage that was being dealt with here. He wasn't going to believe anything anybody said with interrogating it first.

"I have no reason to lie to you, Mr. Evans." she reminded him. "If anything, wouldn't you suspect that I would want my parents to be together? I'm not going to lie, of course I would. Anybody would. I would be telling you that they did kiss and that they're in love and meant to be but here I am, telling you what I know. I honestly believe what my mother says. You should have seen her when she told me, Sam. She was broken. She wanted to go back and change everything. I could tell that just by her face."

Sam remained silent after that, opting to only listen closely and then question her at the end.

"I know that you think I'm just a child and that I barely know my mom. Well, you're right. I'm young and I don't have your maturity, your life experience. And I've only been in contact with my birth mother for a few months. I totally understand. But... I want my mom to be happy. I don't know all that much about her and I'm sure she's changed since I was first born, but I love her. And I care about her too much.

"I've only known her since you two have been married and I can honestly say that through the times you have been together, she's always been happier when you were there. Today, when I spoke to her... I just didn't recognise her. She was acting like her life had no virtue anymore. And that's not right because you should be that virtue, Mr. Evans. She needs you.

"I'm not going to tell you anything I shouldn't. I think Quinn should be the one to do that but I know she has some news for you. News that's going to affect you and her in unelievable, fantastic ways if you let her back in. But if you don't... well, then it'll be terrible for her. It's not my place to tell you whatever that is but I hope you'll respect that she has a very big decision on her mind and she needs you there. She needs you to support her and help her to make that decision. And you'll regret it if you don't.

"You don't have to listen to what I've said. Just... please. I'm begging you that you do. Not for my sake, but for my mom. And for you." she finished, her eyes pleading and desperate.

For a moment, Sam's face didn't show emotion at all. Then, it held plenty but conveyed no particular one above the other. Beth didn't know whether to take that as a good thing or a bad thing. All she knew was that he wasn't going to say anything else so she stood and smoothed out her skirt, much like Quinn would have. Sam recognised all the best of his wife in this girl.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Evans. I hope you recover soon." she bidded him adieu with a gentle smile and warm eyes that suggested so much about her loving nature. Despite the fact that Sam had been snappy and cold to her to begin with, she somehow managed to show the greatest respect for him.

"Thank you." Sam piped up finally as Beth stood at the door. She halted, facing in the opposite direction. "Thank you..." he replied more softly this time. "For everything, Beth."

Smiling to herself, Beth nodded once before slipping out of the room silently. She knew she'd done something; she just prayed that she'd made the right kind of impact.

* * *

><p>Sam was allowed to leave the hospital the following day. All of that remaining night spent there he'd done nothing but replay Beth's words in his head over and over again. He couldn't seem to get enough of one particular phrase. It stood out.<p>

_She needs you._

And he needed her too. More than he or Quinn or Beth or anyone would ever know. He just needed her. He needed her warmth and her smiles after a long day at work, he needed her kisses and hugs when he was feeling down but most of all he needed to experience every remaining step of his life with her. He needed her beside him for the good and the bad times, so that they could look back in the later years and laugh at their immaturity or all of the fun they'd had. He needed her.

It took no more convincing than that. Genuinely believing Quinn, _his wife,_ was not at fault for what he had seen that night he'd returned home, he finally made his decision. He was going to go home again. He was going to see his wife and apologise, kiss her one million times and listen to whatever news that was awaiting him.

The day played out optimisticly. After finding out that Finn was not so alone anymore, he was genuinely happy for his friend who he believed deserved it more than anyone he'd ever known. Finn was a good guy who'd learnt from his mistakes and now it seemed that Rachel had done something similar. They had dropped Sam off at home, his _and Quinn's_ home, and during the car ride had told him of their plans to head to New York together. Finn wasn't quite sure what he would do when he got there but all they knew was that they were going to support each other whatever happened. After promising to keep in touch, Sam bidded goodbye to his old friends and limped his way towards his house.

He entered silently, not wanting to make a fuss. He noticed the state immediately; it was pretty much a mess. Clearly, Quinn's old house rules had failed to remain in place since he'd been gone. Laughing gently, he made his way through every room, touching the walls and replaying the memories he had there.

Despite his pain and aching body, he managed to make his way upstairs. He could hear rusting and was sure that he wasn't alone. Trying not to make too much noise, he scoured the rooms until he came across their bedroom. He peered through the partly opened door, his eyes drinking in his wife for the first time with a new view on everything. She was currently laying on her back on the bed, staring blanky upwards with tear-stained eyes.

Although sad that he'd probably caused those tears, Sam didn't dwell on it any longer. Without any further hesitation, he pushed the door open with a creak. Quinn reaction was delayed but once she picked up the sound and noticed the sudden movement, she winced and her eyes shot in his way. Suddenly, she wasn't so sad anymore.

"Sam..." she breathed, throwing herself up off the bed and walking towards him slowly, as if she was making sure he was actually real. "You're..."

"I'm home." he whispered, eyes brimming with tears. "I'm home, Quinn."

It didn't take long for Quinn to start sobbing. He opened his arms and she fell into them immediately, soaking his t-shirt with salty water. He winced at the pain but allowed her to hold onto him for support anyway, kissing her on the top of her head as he started to cry himself.

"Why..." she whispered gently, holding onto him once her tears had slowed down. "Why are you home?"

"Because I love you." Sam replied plainly, pulling back to look at her in the face. She was smiling. The troubles of yesterday were gone and she was smiling at him, a smile which was met with his own grin. He briefly explained how he had been convinced by Beth's words, made to realise how much he actually needed her and that he believed she wouldn't betray him again.

Crying at a softer pace now, Quinn pressed a chaste kiss to his lips gently. The sensation was sweet. It had been too long since her lips had been against his. Too long for her to go without.

"I have something to tell you, Sam." Quinn croaked, her throat dry from sobbing. She had waited this long. She wasn't going to let it go on any longer. Once he gave her that expectant look, she blurted right out with it. "I'm pregnant."

The whole world stood still as she awaited his response. He stared at her blankly for a moment or two where she assumed he was about to walk out of her life again. She couldn't have that so she gripped onto his hands even tighter. But when he enveloped her into a huge hug, kissing every inch of her face despite his pain, she knew that she had no reason to worry.

"We're going to have a baby..." he whispered, guiding her to the bed and laying them both down.

"I love you, Sam." she whispered, clinging to him desperately.

"I love you too, Quinn." he breathed against her before they engaged in a topic, talking over what had happened recently and what was coming for them in the future. They spoke for hours, staying up until late that night until it felt like he had never been gone.

**Again, thank you to every single reader. I do this for fun and to know that people appreciate it means so much!**


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